


Eren's Eruri Fanfics

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: I don't fucking know what I'm doing, Involves fluff, M/M, Rising from my writing hiatus, a lot of ao3, a lot of tumblr, a lot of youtube, bless my soul, created new pseud, freewrite - Freeform, hah, heh, i did it, i fucking did it, no uploading schedule because I suck, this is exactly what goes on in my mind, yep, yes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-06-06
Packaged: 2018-03-29 14:21:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3899515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'So I see that you write...' He trails off and Eren can only nod as a response. </p><p>'Why do you write, exactly?' Levi inquires. </p><p>He knows of the young man's struggles in school, which makes it a galling fact to believe that he's even interested in the craft. Levi assumes that there's an underlying meaning to his hobby, a purpose that would be difficult for Eren to explain and more difficult for Levi to understand. </p><p>'I like how I can put words together and make something beautiful,' Eren responds, a weak smile on his cheeks. </p><p>Silence grows between the two until Levi cuts in. </p><p>'That's fucking cliché.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just to clarify, this is an actual thing. I'm going to add more chapters to this, so don't get your panties in a twist. Also, Eren is me and I am Eren and we are one, meaning that I've experienced a time in my life where I wrote so much, I was destroying my life (5,000 words everyday and approximately two hours of sleep), so I kinda wrote that in my story. 
> 
> But alas, this chapter is long and boring and I suck because I'm just coming out of writing hiatus and moving onto writing rehab, if that's even a thing. If it's not, then it's officially a thing. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy?

The sound of the tapping keys has been on repeat for the past six hours. Light from the computer monitor spills into the face of Eren Jaeger, a boy who's far too deep in his obsession to stop. Bright red veins have crept onto the sides of his eyes long before and his vision is starting to fail him. Ideas flood his mind, replacing all the blood in his brain with pure mania and adrenaline. 

He wants to stop and knows that he should for the sake of his health, but the only kind of thinking his brain allows - which hasn't gotten any sleep for the past twenty-four hours - is irrationality. 

The computer light illuminates the hideous stack of used notebooks on the other side of the room, the scattered pieces of led on his desk, the tiny erasers, several clothes on his floor, and an empty bag of potato chips that he doesn't bother to throw away. Also, his bedsheets are unmade and haven't been washed for the past couple of months. 

Believe it or not, this is not a pigsty. This here is the natural habitat of the fanfic writer. The fanfic writer is a severely introverted person, one who dedicates himself solely to fanfic writing. The current state he's in is partially due to him neglecting his responsibilities, but also due to the fact Eren lacks total self control. Sometimes, and only sometimes, does the fanfic writer creep out of his room. That's mostly when he needs to go to the bathroom, or fetch something from his fridge.

Don't fret. He still attends school. It's just that the doesn't care enough to work for a high grade anymore. 

Eren looks behind him and focuses his vision on the clock. Blocky numbers tell him 11:51. 

"What the actual fuck?" He breathes out, somewhat exhausted with writing for the past six hours, as if it's his job. 

"I could've swore to God that it was six o'clock. How the hell did time pass so quickly?" 

He stares back at the manuscript, barely reading over what he has written. He's decided to proofread it for later. What he doesn't know, however, is that his sleep deprivation has completely taken his ability to make sense, so what he's briefly reading through are an incoherent jumble of words, but he approves of it anyway. 

"Ok, I'm doing good. I'm doing alright." 

He goes back to writing. 

And suddenly, his face crashes onto the keyboard before his fingers are able to land on a key. Eren lies on his cheek, his back hunched over and his ass sticking out into his seat. One arm is bent on the table and another is hanging off. A single snore escapes his lips. Eren is knocked out cold. 

*

His eyes open to the bright numbers of his clock. When he lifts his head, pain shoots through his neck and when he forces himself onto a proper sitting position, even more pain erupts into his body. Eren has never felt his body so heavy before. 

Weak light shines through wispy curtains and onto his cluttered floor, obvious traces to yesterday night's occurrences. The window displays dark-purple skies, with pink streaks lining the dark and orange slowly bleeding through the horizon. Eren can see the other side of the city, underneath the vast expanse of stars and the infinite scope of night, still sound asleep. 

Everything is the same as before, just that it's early morning.

The manuscript on his computer monitor is completely ignored. He pushes himself away from the desk and gets up. Eren looks around, desperate to find clothes to wear. He doesn't have time to spare. It's 6:38 and he's almost late to school. 

With no other choice, he inspects his current outfit, looking himself up and down. 

"I'm a fucking eyesore," he mutters to himself. 

He can barely call himself a young adult as he figures out that he doesn't need to change. Eren quickly digs through an atrocious pile of clothing and pulls a backpack out. He hurriedly swings it over his shoulder, putting on his shoes at the same time and rushing out of his room. The young man doesn't bother to eat his breakfast, walking past the kitchen and out of the living room door.

With determined haste, he speed-walks through the streets of Baltimore. The road is lined with skinny side walks and antique buildings that appear to be at the edge of crumbling to pieces. 

Through the chain-linked fence of his neighbor's house, he spots adults on the porch, playing cards with cigarettes and liquor bottles. Some burst into laughter and one man furiously slams his deck on the table. Eren waves at the angry one, blonde hair with swept bangs, a blush, and a distinctly thin mustache. A smile spreads across the man's face and his eyes soften. 

"Hey there, Eren."

"Good morning, Hannes!" 

Eren continues walking, cautiously looking out for himself. Thankfully, he arrives to school along with a busy mass of other people rushing inside, safe and sound. 

"Thank fucking goodness," he says to himself, sighing as he places a quivering hand to his heart.

At first, he's a having a blast as he realizes that he's not late and has heavenly time to spare. His confidence, however, vanishes as quickly as it appears, like lightning. It almost stops Eren on his tracks. Looking around, he notices that a majority of everybody's gaze is fixed onto him. 

A slight sense of unease makes it's way into his attitude. Eren's walking becomes more calculated and his expression becomes more stiff. Eren's hand frantically feels around his backpack, his bum, and his back, but there aren't any silly messages sneakily attached. 

'What the hell?' He asks himself. His panic level slowly starts to rise and he tries his best to push it back down. 

It wasn't much. Staring was the least that they can do. If it's really bad, then they would point at him and laugh, just like the movies. Needless to say, it does nothing to assure the young boy. He adjusts his grip on his backpack, too cool to wear it on both shoulders. 

Once again, Eren tries his best to not give a shit. It's one thing when he naturally appears to be a slob but it's completely different when people are subtly pointing it out. It's built in his weak character to take offense. 

Eren makes his way into class. 

He navigates through the complicated desk arrangement and catches three young girls standing on their corner, ripped jeans, pretty blouses, and sparkling jewelry. They're lost in their own world, smiling and looking at each other with their phones lazily held in their hands. 

Thankfully enough, his sarcastic soulmate, Annie, is in class as well, leaning back on her chair and feet on top of the table. His friend is currently occupied with her phone. She blows a pink bubble and doesn't notice Eren until he sits next to her. Annie briefly glances at him to acknowledge his presence and instantly returns her attention to her device. 

"Hey there, waffle face."

"What?" His hand is immediately on his cheeks. Annie's name calling is mainly aimed to poke fun at Eren. Waffle face, however, is most likely a hidden message. 

"It looks like you have a waffle on your face." A tiny smile creeps on her pale cheeks. "Is that why you look so scared?" 

His fingers brush his right cheek, cautious and fearful of what's yet to be discovered. 

Indentations, ranging dark red to pale pink, line from the bottom of his chin to the side of his right eye. Each mark is in the shape of a square. It comes along with distinctly sharp edges, a simple pattern that connects with the other indefinitely. The horrified brunette now understands the shuddering reason behind the nickname. 

"What the fuck happened?" He gasps.

"I should be asking you that question," she says. Annie takes her feet away from the desk and repositions her chair with all four legs on the ground. "So what did happen?" She asks. Annie reaches out to feel the waffle-like marks on his exterior, but Eren angles himself away and slaps her hand in self defense. 

"Whoa, calm down there, cowboy. They're just waffle marks. They'll go away - wait a minute....did you fucking sleep on the keyboard?" She inquired, a slight edginess to her voice. Annie's laid back mood instantly shifts into suspicion and mistrust. The blonde furrows her eyebrows and her habitually languid expression is austere and humorless. 

Eren is shocked by the realization as well, but now that he's thinking about it, he figures that his friend is correct. He finds himself sheepishly nodding and looking at the floor. Annie frowns and shakes her head disapprovingly, arms crossed at her chest. 

Several students have already walked into the room and settled into their seats. With the majority of them as non-morning people, the two's conversation becomes a dramatic event in the lazy, morningtide air. With nothing else to do, they turn around at their seats and watch the two like clowns in a circus, having it as their only means of entertainment. 

"Eren, how fucking long did you stay up yesterday night? If you tell me that you stayed up writing again, bless my motherfucking soul because I'm about to do things that dear Jesus in heaven would shake his head to." 

The guilty boy flinches at her lacking control over her temper. He recoils into his seat as his cheeks burn into a flaming blush. Annie, with the knowledge that her friend is uncomfortable, relentlessly continues, taking his silence for a yes. 

"Ok, so you haven't slept in, like, five million years and on that night, when I explicitly told you to regulate yourself, meaning that you should go to fucking bed, you ignore my piece of advice to write even more? Why? Why the actual fuck would you do that to yourself? See, I'm not your mother, so I'm not gonna insist on this, but I do have to watch over you. If push comes to shove, however, I have the obligation to put punishments into place," she tells him. 

Eren knows. Annie has repeated the same speech ever since the previous people in his life left him behind. He doesn't respond, gazing at the floor. All eyes are surely focused on the two now. Damn, Annie. She has a damn loud voice when she's angered and getting away with herself. Eren is too ashamed to meet his friend in the eyes, or better yet, lift his head up.

"Eren, how many times do I have to repeat myself? I'm not your fucking mom," she says. Annie snaps a finger in front of Eren's face to gain his attention. He instinctually looks up at her and engages in eye contact with azure eyes that are so clear, it touches Eren's vision with clouds from the sky. For a moment, he got lost, but Annie is enraged and it rings loudly in his head. "Could you actually listen for once?" She asks. 

Eren absentmindedly nods and properly sits up on his seat. Annie slaps her hands on his shoulders.

"Eren, look at me." She says. Annie's face is three to four inches away from his. Her expression is pumped with determination. Eren can't possibly go against her, especially not for the third time. "I'm not your mother, nor am I Mikasa. I'm a friend that's gonna guide you along the way. Since your hold over your life is as loose as your plot lines, I'm going to have to insist on you now. Let me be frank with you: your life is a fucking mess. But the good thing is, I'm going to actually walk you through this. As for now, I'm very disappointed and angry and I don't want to be passive-aggressive or anything so I'm just going to stop talking to you." 

Annie's words are unkind and abusive, but Eren chokes it all down, his shame, his guilt, his pride, and remains silent. When his blonde friend lets go of him, he finally allows himself to take a breath. She continues chewing her bubblegum, clamorously smacking her lips to annoy the other people in the room. Eren is still. His hands are clenched and sandwiched between his legs, his shoulder raised. He doesn't look up at all, not in the moments following her speech. Nonetheless, whether he wants to admit it or not, she's undeniably correct. 

The room is silent once again, but it's filling up quickly. The corner girls return to their conversation. Eventually, Reiner arrives and sit in the chair to the other side of Annie. He waves at the brunette and smiles, but with a weak wave as a response, Reiner is curious to know what happened between the two. Annie, however, doesn't give him the chance to inquire. She turns so that her back is facing Eren and he's entirely excluded from their conversation. 

Class shortly starts, relieving Eren from the suffocating sense of loneliness. In the duration of the entire lesson, Reiner cranes over to Eren's seat and looks at him with an apologetic look on his eyes. 

Annie's friend is actually well known for his amazing quarterback skills on the school's football team. 

The bell eventually rings and everybody gets up to leave. Reiner immediately approaches the brooding young man, who's holding tight to his books with a fixated gaze on the floor, suggesting regret. Annie is fast and she's gone before Reiner can chase after her. The buff football player gently places his hand on Eren's bony shoulder, comforting the boy before he even knows what's wrong. 

"Hey, you ok? It seems like you got into a nasty fight with Annie. Wanna talk to me about it?" He asks. 

Eren fakes a smile, a skill he mastered from previous experiences. Hopefully, it's enough to convince Reiner. The football player isn't the stereotypical jock that possesses a new female accessory every week. Surprisingly enough, he's keen to body language and genuinely cares about his friends. 

"I'm alright. Don't worry about me. It's just that...I keep endangering myself and it got Annie really angry. She told me she'll be over it soon, just not now. She's trying to cool off and she's avoiding me because she doesn't want to cause anymore fights," Eren informs him. 

The details and the assurance persuades the blonde, but not entirely. He cautiously removes his hand and takes a step back, the look in his eyes asks the boy if he's sure. Eren nods, patient. 

"Ok, well, if you need anything, just tell me. I don't like watching you extremely sad like that." Reiner smiles to make sure his friend knows that he has his back. Eren is indifferent towards his friend's attempt at consolation. His mouth is a tightly drawn straight line, his eyes dry and barren. 

"I'm gonna be good," he says, a blatant and tasteless lie. 

Eren walks past the buff football player and he navigates through the desks in the classroom, not careful - or at least too depressed to care. He bumps his hip on several corners and almost drops his books before he makes his way out. Reiner is reluctant to set him free and unsure whether he should leave Eren at his current state. He pulls out his phone and taps a text message. 

The green-eyed boy is more composed in his following class, only that the lacking motivation to succeed and his indecent behavior has always been present. 

He sits on his seat, beside Bertholdt and Armin. Both are stone-face focused on their papers. Pressing the sides of their heads with their thumbs as they figure out their warm-up, Eren chooses to not disturb them. He lays his paper in front of him as well, but does not make any attempts at solving the problem presented to him - doesn't even look at it. Eren rests his chin on his hand and waits until they finish. 

Armin and Bertholdt are both avid math students, the best of the entire class. Armin is the smarter one and highly regarded between the other teachers in the school. He's as charismatic as his bowl-styled hair is blonde. Bertholdt is undeniably smart as well, only that he's a harder worker. His extensive studying is what got him to where he is today. However, he's incredibly shy and has severe self-esteem issues that are most-likely connected to the way he was brought up. 

Armin finally detaches his attention from the paper and looks to Berthodlt and Eren. His eyes are wide with relief, but somewhat crazed, hinting that the problem must have been extremely difficult to solve. 

"Hey, did you guys figure the answer out? I kinda know what's up, but I'm not sure whether I'm correct," he breathes out. Armin runs a hand through his hair, blonde tufts between his fingers and his bangs strewn in different directions. 

"I didn't do anything," says Eren. 

Armin's expression deadens. "Why am I not surprised? Of course you wouldn't," the blonde replies in mock hostility. Eren's smile is faint, but still proud. 

"I worked with the equation the whole time and had to start over, but I got it down...hold...on..." Bertholdt's voice is strained as if doing his warm-up is causing him physical pain. He returns to the paper with veins branching out on his arm. Bertholdt continues writing with unmatched fervor, displeased with Armin completing the problem before he did. 

"Eren, what the hell happened to your face?" Armin asks. He points at the facial atrocity with wide, intrigued eyes. 

"I...fell asleep on the keyboard and yeah, I might be stuck with this look on for the whole day," he shamefully answers, softening his voice so that he wouldn't be heard by unwanted ears. 

Painfully blurry details from yesterday night plays in his mind. He was a maniac, possessed like a voodoo doll with his addiction for writing and lust for getting his ideas down. At the time, he had this dominating idea that he had to do it at all cost and the way it drove him to borderline madness was sickening. 

The brunette shudders at the thought. 

How could he have allowed that to happen? When did something as simple and as innocent as writing grab a hold of his self-control?

"Eren, you ok?" Armin asks. 

Eren was staring at the doodles on his desk. Some are artistic sketches of anime characters while others are abstract shapes. He also had been absentmindedly tracing one of the drawings with his finger. At the sound of his friend's voice, he snaps back into reality. 

"I was just in deep thought," he says. 

"What were you thinking about?"

"Stuff."

Armin leans forward in his seat and towards Eren. The blonde stares him down, hoping to find the reason behind his out-of-character laconism. Eren, however, is always uncomfortable under the scrutiny of others and Armin's unwanted eyes causes him to be more cemented and clammed up. 

"What kind of stuff? Deep stuff like the existence of the universe, important stuff like your writing obsession, or stupid stuff like the secrets behind - I don't know - mountain goats?" Armin presses on. The young blonde is always down for a therapy session. In fact, he's been waiting for the perfect opportunity to give one ever since he started AP psyche.

Eren begins to sweat under the pressure to answer the question, but he tells himself to calm down. 

"Ok, the 'crave that mineral' meme was a reflection of the person I was last year, which is dead. Last year was amazing, don't get me wrong. But what happened last year, stays in last year...I'm thinking about the important things, to be honest," he confesses.

Eren can't lie to his friend, especially when he doesn't want to put himself through a lengthier and more frustrating interrogation. 

"So, about your writing obsession. Yep, it's out of control." Armin presses his lips together and solemnly nods in agreement. The brunette hadn't even included the part where he fought with Annie and passed out in the middle of night, but his friend doesn't hesitate admit the tragic fact.

"I just...it's breaking my entire life apart. I mean, I still want to write and complete my story, but I'm kinda at the crossroads," he says, attempting to sort himself out. 

"Well, you just said it, didn't you? You said that it's breaking your life apart. That means that you seriously have to take a break from it, step away from everything and take a good look at what you have done, alright? I'm not telling you to stop writing altogether. Don't ever stop doing something you enjoy. Just...think about stuff. Think about where you are, where you came from, and where you aim to be at."

What trails Armin's advice is Eren's silence. He firmly strokes his chin. The struggling young man thinks it over, ponders over his options despite the limited amount of picks to choose from. Perhaps he can solve this problem in a way that he can still write. 

"Eren, you're lucky to have Annie, you know that? Reiner just told me that you got into a fight with her. Shouldn't that tell you something about the way you've been living your life? On top of that, you're grades are extremely low and you're on the verge of failing your classes every marking period. Shouldn't this opt you to change? C'mon, man. I know that you're a lot better than this," he says. Armin playfully slaps Eren's arm, but it hurts more than he wants to admit. 

"She's calming down. She didn't want to talk to me because she's afraid she'll say something that'll start another fight," Eren grinds the words out of his mouth in a strained response. The boy fakes a smile, but his smile is far too wide and the attempt is far too grand to be convincing in anyone's eyes. 

"Eren, I'm not telling you to feel really bad about yourself, so don't get all worked up. Just...think about what you're doing and figure a way out of this situation. I know you can make it through this."

"Alright." 

Armin places a finger in front of his lips and points at the door. 

The teacher walks in the class with bags too heavy for him to carry. It gives him a deathly glow, a special shine to his bald head, and an aura that hints his murderous intentions for anyone who dares to cross him today. On his frighteningly calm and steady hand, he holds a coffee and he sets it on the table before flicking open the projector, revealing the class objective on the board. Students make their way into their seats and levels down their talking into whispers. 

Armin is no longer invading Eren's personal space, sitting straight on his chair and leaning on the backrest. Bertholdt is finished with his warm-up, sitting straight as well. The students that were out of their seats have papers on their desks, working on the problem with their pencils and calculators. 

Mr. Shadis shouts out names with his hand on the mouse and elderly eyes glaring at the monitor. There's a frown on his face, but with his eyebrow-less completion, the students don't have a sure-fire method of discerning his current mood. 

Class shortly begins with the instructor working the problem out on the board, step after step. Eren fills his paper out as he goes. However, he makes no effort to pay attention. He doesn't participate in any of the class discussions either. 

His intelligent friends are rather inspiring, but with regards to his grades, he can't care any less than how much he cares now. Armin and Bertholdt are sick of disappointment. All efforts that went to stressing the importance of education was futile. Now, they side-glance their friend and take precious time to make sure that he's on task. 

The next period is just as much of an educational experience as all the other classes, which isn't much. He spends a majority of the period pretending to take notes when in actuality, he's jotting down his ideas for his next fanfic. None of his friends are there to monitor his behavior, but he knows, more than anybody else, that he should pay attention to what is being taught to him. Their scolding voices and disapproving looks can't help but adhere to the back of his mind. They're there for him too see and hear, but also ignore.

The only people in his life that haven't given up on him are his teachers. They may not understand the family situation, but Eren's grades are a reflection of their teaching. They're paid to care. 

While doing their classwork, Ms. Brzenska calls him over to her desk and asks about his grades, why they're as bad as they are. He shrugs the question off and returns go his seat. 

When the class is finally finished, he figures that the next period will be just as boring as the other ones. 

'Why do I even bother to go to school?' He asks himself. Eren may have gotten sleep, but it's still not enough to inject logic into his mind. He's far too exhausted to care and fatigue is shown through the way he walks, how he's hardly able to carry himself, and red, sullen eyes are fashioned through his sickly visage. 

Eren has had enough.

He's done the deed countless times before, just like how he's faced hopelessness and saw his attendance to school as unnecessary. 

"This place is a fucking waste of my time," he mutters to himself. 

Instead of heading to his class, he sneaks out of the building. He uses the exit at the lowest level of the school, carefully gripping the doorknob and ever so slowly turning it to make sure that the fatal creak isn't as loud as it normally is. Nobody has ever caught him in the act and he has never witnessed another individual doing the same. 

Outside, a strong gust of wind blows, painting his auburn hair in all directions. Eren meets the surfing, high-reaching blades of grass and the gentle caress of the mid-day sun. It's a blissful setting, whisking away his stress and it fades into newfound relief, inspiring him to write. 

'Write, I want to write,' he says to himself. 

Eren ventures further away from the prison he calls school. He walks around the back, where the tall meadow ends and the concrete road begins, the border between flourishing life and brick-built buildings. For now, during working hours, there's a thick layer of desolation and it tightly coats around the tranquil silence. 

The young man heads to Starbucks, a popular store amongst the high school students. It's not as rickety and old compared to the other buildings. In order to maintain the brand name, it's more modern and well taken care of. The windows are freshly wiped while the litter is properly stuffed into the closed bin. Unfortunately, it's current state is identical to other areas of the street, where the soil is barren and lifeless. It starkly contrasts to the sparkling greens of his school's meadow. 

Eren pushes through the door, welcomed by the pleasantly familiar sound of the store bell. 

"Ymir, where the hell are you?" He shouts. All the seats are empty and somehow, the dead air is more pronounced upon his entrance. 

Normally, the freckled barista is behind the counter, her cheek resting on her palm, looking out for customers as she stares at her phone on the other hand. She calls it stellar service and work performance, but considering the other things the coffee shop could work on, laziness would be a more fitting title. 

"I'm in the goddamn kitchen, Eren," someone answers. It's a distant sound, but her voice is distinguishable. Eren can easily tell that she's grumpy. 

"Why the hell are you in there?" he shouts back. 

"Because I want to." 

Eren sits on the counter, not on the seats that are totally available to him, but on the goddamn counter. It's a reflective surface and it's clean, telling him that the barista was just laboring over it with a rag earlier. He's been to the place a million times. Therefore, he's accustomed to the rules and knows which ones he'll get away with breaking. One of those rules includes sitting on the counter. In fact, he can get away with almost anything when it's just him and Ymir. 

He surveys the entire shop, checking for incoming customers, but their lacking presence is the same as every other day. 

Not that the coffee shop was ever neglected of care, but there's a special shine to his surroundings, as if Ymir's actually doing her job. 

Ymir emerges from the darkness of the kitchen and walks behind the bar. 

"Why the hell are you sitting on the counter?" She asks, the same question she's asked him over the many times he's visited the cafe. Ymir places her phone down and abandons it to have the conversation with the troublesome boy. "And why the hell are you skipping school? You're gonna fuck your life up." 

The woman found herself in a lecturing mood today, which is quite the inconvenience for the irritated Eren, who is sick of being scolded for his unhealthy life choices. 

Eren slips off of the bar and settles down on a stool. He mimics her pose, leaning forward with both his arms crossed in front of him. His face is merely inches away from Ymir's, as if he's taunting her, but the both know that he's playing around. 

"I know I am and I've heard the same line from nine-hundred different people. To be frank, I don't care," he responds, pulling away from the uncomfortably close proximity. "When I graduate high school, I'm going to travel the country and perform to make a living. That, or become a stripper. In fact, any type of sexual worker will do, but I will mainly travel." 

Ymir isn't impressed by his answer. Her facial expression showcases her dispassionate stance towards the subject. She even rolls her eyes to emphasize her feelings. From her perspective, Eren is a fuckup, a naive and foolish young man who's far too focused on trivial affairs. She's warned him several times, but deterring Eren from his passion is hopeless. Nonetheless, he makes for some pretty good company in the lonesome shop, so she doesn't discourage him from ever visiting. 

"What?" He asks.

She's been staring at him for too long. 

"I think I've already told you about how I was exactly like you when I was in your age," she begins. 

"No, but if you think you're going to try being that wise old lady that's going to give me life-changing advice, don't even try. Also, our ages are roughly the same. You can't offer me advice that'll be very useful."

"I'm nineteen and your seventeen. We're two years apart and there's a lot of things people learn within two years, such as the fact that dropping out of high school and never graduating is the biggest mistake I've ever made." she snaps. 

"Ymir, I don't care if I end up a fuckup, working behind the register or seducing other men on the pole. I just...I lost the ability to care," he stubbornly argues.

"Well, you're certainly going to care once you actually become one. You don't know how difficult it is living like this. It's a day-to-day battle. Make the most out of the opportunities being handed to you right now. You have no idea how much you're going to regret it if you don't," she says, nearly raising her voice. Ymir grasps whatever self-control she has left and forces herself to calm down.

Eventually, she regains her cool. 

"I don't care, Ymir. You can't change my mind. I'm already a fuckup. Ever since..." Eren trails off. 

The barista stares deep into his sparkling greens, a muddy and polluted kind of ocean color. They once heralded the luster of sun-dappled waters and the depth of an untouched forest. She sucks in air and heaves out a defeated sigh. 

"Yeah, I got it. Let's not make this depressing by bringing up the past. It's happened, you're letting go, and you're still not ready to talk about that kind of stuff," she finishes. 

He nods in agreement and raises his eyebrows while pressing his lips. 

"Got it." 

Ymir returns to her phone, tapping away at the bright screen. The white light of the device is even brighter than the general lighting of the cafe. Eren marvels at the petit assortment of pastries through the elaborate display. The glass reflects the light from the building's windows as well as the dotting ceiling lamps, a near resemblance of beating stars. He gets rather lost in the simplistic beauty of it and his mind is elsewhere from the pounding silence that's present between them. He isn't sure whether they're ignoring it or letting it be. 

"I broke up with him," she finally says, cutting through the hushed atmosphere. Eren turns to her, but her eyes are still on her phone, distant and disassociated with reality. 

"About time," he mutters. 

A simper shyly twitches onto her cheeks and tiny droplets of tears begin to appear on the edges of her eyes. "You were thinking that?" She chokes out as she holds every single part of her fragmented self together and away so that her vulnerability isn't as exposed. Her eyes rapidly blink, but no tears come forth.

"You alright?" Eren asks. The question goes unanswered and it hangs in the air. He doesn't wait for a response and alternatively looks for it, either verbally or physically. 

"I took it out on this damn shop and cleaned every speck off of every nook and cranny. I just...my mind is flip flopped and I can't think straight. I knew this would happen too, but I was desperate enough to at least try."

"Ymir, you deserve better than him and you know that."

She shakes her head, denying the statement. Her head is craned downwards. Ymir lets go of her phone and drops it on the polished wood, her hands tightly taking hold of herself. It's physical now. Eren is watching her pulling apart at the seams, but also hell-bent on keeping her emotional stability together. 

The barista has been dating the guy for two months. Eren lived to see her date many men before and has sat through a period of time where she moved from relationship to relationship, some even lasting as short as two days. She isn't a particularly passionate lover and is awkward whenever she's expressing her feelings, but in this special relationship, she knew for sure that she was going to commit herself and give it her all. Deep down inside, where Eren kept the thought tucked underneath his mind's floorboards, he's known that the relationship wouldn't last, dreading for the day it comes to an end. 

"Well, there's nothing you can do but move on," he says, trying to be as sympathetic as he can. Much to his displeasure, he's unable to come up with a better reply. 

"I know. I've gotten through worse relationships...there was just something special about him. Maybe it was me. Maybe I was getting ahead of myself when I thought I could make it work - just as long as I tried hard enough. But what made me feel like shit was when I was willing to give him my everything and he wouldn't even reserve a special spot in the week to spend time with me," she rants. Perhaps that's the reason behind her slipping character. 

While Ymir has been able to provide advice for Eren without hesitation, Eren can't. He stumbles upon his words and stutters when he wants to prove his point. He'll admit it. He doesn't possess as much experience and intellect as his friend. 

The silence slowly sleeps between them once again as Eren continues to contemplate over his words, or whether he should say anything at all. And the longer the absence of words continue, the heavier the depressive air is. 

"Well....fuck men. None of them have been good to you so far, so...why don't you try women instead?" He shyly suggests. Eren instantly regrets his decision to speak, inwardly cringing with hopes of squeezing away his affliction. Perhaps if he cringes hard enough, it'll reverse whatever he just said. 

Ymir raises her head, facing Eren with wide and incredulous eyes. Her hands let go of her hair, wrapping into the back of her neck. At first, she's speechless, but her shocked expression tells him that she's far from ever wanting to let his comment go. 

"Are you fucking kidding me? You could've chosen to not say anything at all. You're so fucking funny."

"I didn't mean to say it like that..."

Ymir's sigh prevents him from finishing his sentence. 

"Yea, you didn't. I could tell. Just...if you have nothing wise to say, just don't. You're really bad at listening to people, you know that?" 

He slowly nods, staring at her with awe. He was sure that she was going to give him a mouthful and scold him ruthlessly. The anticipating young man was even bracing for impact, but the blow isn't as damaging as he initially prepared for. The rising tension dies down. 

Ymir takes her phone and swipes to unlock it. The bright light reveals the wetness of her eyes, but also her strong and nearly unstirred features. She doesn't need Eren's consolation, just his ears for him to listen. 

"On a lighter note, how was work today?" He asks in hopes of easing the rigidness lingering between them. It's a displeasing flavor, a mood-ruiner.

She looks up and turns off her device. It appears that she wants to say something at first, but she chokes back her words, an aching desire to express herself hangs off of her pensive lips. 

"It went pretty well. Of course, business was booming in the mornings and I was left to handle the customers behind this register. Sasha and Connie worked their assess off, but had to leave for school..." She describes, pausing to think of any leftover details. "Oh and I overheard some girls talking about your fanfics. They were trying to persuade some other guy to read it and he was very reluctant at first, but eventually, he agreed to it." 

At the mention of his fanfics, his ears dial in to listen. 

"Which fic were they talking about?" He enthusiastically inquires. Ymir finds his extreme shift of attitude extraordinary. She's originally taken aback, but she hides it as she clears her throat. 

"I'm talking about your most recent and most popular one," she answers. 

Eren channels all of his focus towards the speaking barista, holding on to each and every word and finding himself immensely disappointed when she finished her sentence. His eyes are lustrous with rapture, as if someone has touched his motionless waters, creating waves of immense and profound curiosity. 

"What about it? What did they say? Do you remember? Do you think they go to my school? I can talk to them or..."

Ymir places a stopping hand in front of him. 

"You're getting too excited. Shouldn't you be used to the fact that you're one of the most popular fanfic writers of all time already? Isn't the fact that people are discussing your chapters and stories with other individuals a natural occurrence by now?" 

"No. And that's because I work damn hard on my writing and I put forth my all into it. I will never get used to people's praises or the simple fact that so much people are taking away their valued time to read them. It's always unreal," he answers.

Ymir raises her eyebrow but is genuinely amazed by his answer. 

"Well, I really like you're writing. I haven't read all of it, but there's something special with the way you construct your stories and the human qualities you show in each character. Believe me when I say that you're not the best out there, but you certainly have that special sparkle and I don't know how to describe it." 

Eren smiles. "Thank you very much. That means a lot to me," he graciously answers. Perhaps he's been practicing the response to such acclamations in front of a mirror. "Now what did they say about it? Did they say it was good? Bad? Well-written?" He quickly asks. It's as if his voice is sped up and Ymir can't handle the barrage of questions all at once. 

"They said that it was fine. They were talking about how skilled you are and how hard you worked to be as good as you are today. They said that they really appreciate you putting forth the effort. One of them bragged to the other girl that she finished reading all of your writing and continued by saying that you've come a long way after such a short time," she explains. 

Eren doesn't know how to react. All he can do is dreamily smile, spacing out as he recreates the scene in his mind. 

He's still a precious child. Ymir watches him squirm and kick with excitement. The emotional high courses through his veins, elevating his mood by tenfold. He clenches and unclenches his hand, digging into the flesh of his palm every time. Ymir is slightly horrified at his celebration, but glad for him anyway. 

"Are you done now?" She humorously asks, raising an eyebrow. 

The kid may have rehearsed modesty, but he's still incredibly vein and secretly indulges in compliments, which is why Ymir chooses unflattering words whenever he's around - to practice. 

"I'm not, but you're kinda worried for me now that I did what I just did." In his smile, he bites his bottom lip. 

"Alright." 

She waits before he sharply inhales to speak, leaning towards Ymir as if it would help with her description. 

"Then, what did they say? Do you think any of them watch my YouTube videos? I know that they're not as popular but the asks that fly into my box are very funny and even watching myself answer them makes me laugh," he asks. 

Ymir slowly nods. 

"Uh, I think so. The blonde chick really liked you so she probably watches your videos," she warily responds. 

Eren pulls away to celebrate once again. He's ecstatic and infinitely beyond thrilled with the fact that his writing is beginning to gain recognition. Eren's rosy lips have never stretched so far for a euphoric and expressive smile. 

"Hey, are you going to go back home to write? Do you remember the conversation that we had earlier?" She backtracks, fearful of the young boy drifting back into his habit. 

"Of course I will. That just motivated me even more. If I'm at the top, then I'm going to stay at the-" 

Eren stops himself. He recalls the hideous fight between him and Annie, the advice he got from Armin, his frighteningly low grades, and his second argument with Ymir. Images of his dirty room flash into his mind, the bag of potato chips, the unmade bed, the clothes and his buried family picture. It's somewhere, swallowed by the all the disarray, but it no longer stands to remind him of what he lost. In the darkest days, he would hold it to his chest. 

The young man is suddenly as quiet as a mouse. 

He recalls the endlessly rainy days following the incident, the heart-stoppingly vivid moments when they lowered her casket. What's inside it used to be filled with life, used to cook him dinner, used to smile -

Eren shakes the thoughts away while Ymir stares at him. She doesn't ask Eren about what just happened, but has a good idea of what it might be. 

"I'm going to rest. I can always finish my chapters later, right?" He asks. 

Ymir proudly nods, motioning for the young boy to continue. 

"I'm going to make a video and then I'm going to rest until the end of my birthday. I think Annie would really like that," he says, but Ymir stops him there. 

"Are you doing this for your friend or are you doing this for yourself? Get your mind sorted out before you can continue speaking. Think about it, Eren."

Eren follows her directions and thinks about it long and hard.

"I think it would be much healthier if I did it for myself, but I don't think it's wrong if I'm doing this for my friend either. After all, she's had to put up with me constantly worrying her and causing her stress. She's more like a babysitter, if anything else. So, both."

"Now, do you think you'll be able to follow through with your plan or do you think you'll need someone's help to achieve your goal?" She asks. 

"I'm afraid I'm going to fail myself, just like all the other times I've resolved to making a change," he answers. "But I remember Annie telling me that she's going to be more involved with this. I really don't like how she's blaming herself and it would honestly feel a lot better when I achieve this myself...I don't know...." 

Eren's mind is murky with conflict, but not only does he see the light at the end of the tunnel, he can also feel it.

*

The young man arrives in his noiseless abode, the surrounding air laced with destitution and emptiness. Instead of considering this a home, he feels rather forlorn and doesn't believe he possesses a true home to return to. Even side-glancing the building before heading to school causes an awfully nostalgic feeling to gush out of his chest and with the knowledge of having to reside within the building, he's in a constant state of despair, self-protection, and running away. 

"This is why I said I would travel the country." 

Eren sighs as he enters through the door. His father is never present, which contributes to the reason why he's spiraled down to an incurable obsession for self-destruction. He lifts his body up the stairs, deviating from his scheduled visit to the fridge. 

He realizes that he's wasted a good amount of electricity when he enters the room and realizes that the computer is on. He looks through the word document, scrolling through the continuous string of random letters for fourteen pages straight. He shakes his head disapprovingly and doesn't bother to look over what he's written before exiting Microsoft Word. Yes, without saving. 

Eren studies his reflection on the now cimmerian computer screen, staring at his soulless eyes and his unhealthy complexion, a paler shade of his originally olive skin. He can't help but think about his life choices, how far he's come, and the life he's lived that shaped him to be the person that he is today. 

"Enough of the complex thinking now. You have to get your ass moving."

His life-changing conversation with Ymir had lasting effects on his mind and it stuck to his train of thought up to this moment. Perhaps it's because of the light-hearted mention of the girls that came by the shop earlier and their apparent obsession for his craft. Those certainly raised his spirits.

"I should start with my room. It's messiness is a reflection of how disordered I am," he says to himself. Eren taps to a YouTube playlist and let's it play on the background. 

He fetches a bin and drags it into the room. Eren starts with picking up the strewn garments on the floor and throwing them inside the laundry bin, a slight rhythm curling around his hips as he finishes the chore. 

The room is certainly less smellier when the area is cleared from clothing. The brown shine to the floor is in sight, and it's more refreshing than a glorious breath of nature's air. It brings a smile to Eren's lips, knowing that he's finished the chore with his own hands. The epic background music makes his achievement seem more divine. 

"This is a start of a beautiful change," he whispers to himself, even when he shouldn't be so sure. 

Eren stretches his muscles before he continues. He organizes the remaining half of the room that's part of the mess, almost working productively.The only distraction would be the music. Sometimes, the lyrics would carry him to a beautiful sector of his mind and he would find himself completely off task. In the end, his work resulted in a harmoniously ordered bookshelf, a new comforter overtop his mattress, a properly swept floor and shiny windows that's free from grime. 

Looking back at the improvement of his room, he allows himself to sigh and smile. He never knew that ridding himself of a messy environment could feel so satisfying, so fulfilling, never knew he could feel so...proud of himself. Of course, he would never want to sink back into a state where he's required to do it once again, so he'll make sure that he'll periodically keep his room in tidy condition. 

Eren takes his phone and snaps a picture of his entire room. He sends the file to Annie. 

"Guess what I did," is the message attached to the picture. For sure, Annie will be appreciative of him finally doing something for himself. It's pleasing on his half too, and for an individual who's never found gratification through chores, he's quite shocked. 

Eren sets the phone down on his neat table. Catching a glance at his computer, he feels tempted to turn it on and write to make up for the lost chapter, but he holds back the urge. They keyboard is begging to be touched and the mouse is waiting to be handled. Eren shudders as he walks past the PC, taking a camera from his tiny library. It's carefully set at the lowest shelf and isolated from his other belongings. 

The lenses catch a reflection of his face, unclouded but with translucence that shines and showcases it's great care. He runs his finger through it's mechanical ridges, admiring it's smooth touch. 

Eren moves a table in front of his bed and gingerly stacks books for surplus elevation. He leaves the camera at the top of the pile and presses the record button. The mattress creaks as he briskly jumps atop the bouncy surface. 

"Ok, guys. I'm doing a special ask vid," he says as he grabs his phone on the other side of the bed. Then, he looks to the camera and meets the eyes of the audience. "Because it's three days before my birthday, March 30th. And I know that you guys like to go crazy with your questions, so it'll be much more fun when I answer them," he says. 

He opens the tumblr app and immediately heads to his ask box. The first message he sees is anon hate and backlash, but he scrolls through the negativity, unaffected. Eren scrolls until he finds a decent question. 

"Ok, this one isn't too bad," he says, reading from his phone. "Eren, what do you find attractive in the preferred sex?" 

A giggle bubbles out of his lips and he takes his hand to his mouth to cover up his embarrassing smile. He looks back at the camera. 

"See, some of you guys already know this and some of you can just tell, but I'm going to make this crystal clear; I'm gay."

Eren laughs even more and he runs his hand over his hair, looking over to another part of the room in concentration. 

"Umm, collarbones are very attractive to me, whether you're man or woman. Also, I really like hands, the way the knuckles dip and fall, the bone lines that trail down to the edge of the wrist. That's found in women as well, but that doesn't really matter," he answers, biting in his lip. 

For the rest of the day, Eren answers questions from his phone, getting a good laugh out of the brilliantly colorful minds of his readers. There are times where he has to place his phone on his bed and grip his belly from the intense humor. Then, there are times where he's more serious and calm. Eren also enjoyed answering questions about the special event three days away. 

"Eren, how do you want to celebrate your birthday?" He reads from the phone. 

The young man thinks about his answer for a while, tapping his chin. 

"I want to watch a scary movie with Levi," he finally says. 

His reply is quite sarcastic, knowing that his wish is far from reality. He knows, however, that his fans are smart enough to figure out that he's joking around. 

He continues on with his questions. Many are left unanswered, but he figures that the video is long enough. When he looks out of his window, the moon has taken the sun's place in the sky and the horizon possess a vanishing display of the sun's breath. 

Eren leaves the comfort of his bed and finishes the video. He returns to his phone to check his messages. Annie replied to his text two hours ago. 

"That's a fucking miracle. I'm going to visit you in the morning to make sure that you don't have keyboard marks in your face again. You probably didn't eat breakfast today." 

Annie has the house's key in her hands after Mikasa entrusted it to her. The idea of his friend paying a visit doesn't settle well with him, since she'll most-likely complain about his father's perpetual absence, but chances are, the decision was made with best intentions. 

"Alright. I'm going to try to sleep early today, but after I edit and post the video," he responds, closing his phone. 

Eren takes a deep breath before casting a dreadful glance at his PC. 

*

The video is complete and is waiting to finish uploading in his YouTube channel. He impatiently taps a nail on his wooden desk, his chin resting on the balls of his palm. It's been three hours since he's had a delightful time with himself. The editing process left a nasty taste in his tongue, especially with him being in a rush and making reckless mistakes along the way. But with the upload as lagging as usual, his mood has sourly fallen even more. 

A shrilly ring sounds, causing him to jump on his seat. 

"Fuck."

Eren hisses in pain. In the blur of his surprise, he accidentally slammed his elbow on his desk. Rubbing the soon-to-be bruised area, he checks to see who it is. The young boy immediately answers the call. 

"Hey, Eren."

A young man with a gentle smile appears on Eren's monitor, alleviating his irritable mood and making him smile as well. The individual has dark-brown hair with bangs that perfectly part in the middle, and angelically chocolate eyes, constantly donning an amiable expression and a wise ring, similar to the ones on a tree stump.

"Marco. What's up?" 

It's his best friend from the maple-syrup country. Eren sees that he's as freckly as ever. 

"I'm doing alright." 

At the sound of his needy roommate's voice, he turns around and speaks sentences that are muffled by his low-quality microphone. 

"What did Jean need this time?" Eren asks. 

"He was just angry that I used up all of the hot water. Oh well. He doesn't need hot water when he seriously needs some cooling down anyway," he responds. Marco's eyes widen and he shakes his head, pressing a finger to the side of his head. 

"Did you guys get into a fight or something?" 

"No. He just came back from his part-time job really angry. Someone called him a horse-face again."

Marco and Eren met through their love of writing fanfics, especially fanfics about their favorite group of youtubers, the Survey Corpse. They first contacted each other when they were in need of a beta reader and a friendship slowly developed from the experience. 

The freckled gentleman's fanfics aren't as well-known as Eren's, considering the fact that he started his hobby merely two years ago. But his fanfics are recommended between Survey Corpse fans all around, known for his fluff and adorable plot lines. He's an Eruri shipper as well, but attempts to write fics from other ships. 

Marco is situated in his well-lit room, where it shows his tidy and ordered surroundings. He plays with the looseness of the spinning chair, having a good time. Eren hopes that Marco will notice the freshly arranged room and acknowledge Eren's  
effort. He enviously stares at his friend, being a person without a fancy chair in possession. 

"Actually, I'm trying to sleep early today. So I'm going to go when my video finishes uploading," he says. 

Marco stops spinning to do his puppy-eyed frown, but it slowly transforms into a dazzled smile. 

"Hmmm...it seems like somebody's finally breaking from their unhealthy habit. What for?" He asks. 

"No special reason or anything, and it's not like I woke up saying that I wanted to do this. I just....I have no idea." Eren fixes his absent stare at the ceiling, thinking about how and why he did what he did. 

"I also see that your room is well-kept. Great job for that too. Wow, Eren. What in the world has happened to you?" 

The freckled boy doesn't know how to react to his friend's shocking metamorphosis. He can hardly recognize the person in front of him, so the least he can do is sugar him with flattery. 

"Like I said, I have no fucking idea. YouTube is taking forever to upload, but it looks like it's almost done."

"Well, I hope that this new...phase of yours lasts for quite a while. I was going to talk to you about our collaboration. You know, the little one shot. But we can always talk about that later on," he says. 

Mr. Grinch, in other words, Marco's roommate, shrieks in the background. The frightening episode is followed by a slew of profanity. It sounds like Jean has been storing up some aggression throughout the day, and he's having a blast as he releases his pent up feelings in a fiery and lunatic explosion. 

"You okay, Jean?" Marco asks, but there's no answer. 

"I think you have to go check up on him," Eren suggests. 

"Yeah, I think I do. See yah later. You can just sign out on me."

The worried teenager urgently rushes out of his room without turning off his computer. In his hurry, he leaves the door open, revealing a dark corridor. 

"See you later too." 

Eren wasn't given the chance to say goodbye. He ends their chat. Coincidentally, the YouTube video was just finishing it's upload. He remains on his seat a while more, opening his phone to check if Annie has replied to his text, but it appears that she's went to bed. 

The video is finally uploaded to the website and Eren pumps his fist to the air in mini celebration. 

Before he shuts down the computer, he stares at the shortcut to Microsoft Word a second too long. 

"You shouldn't do it,"he says to himself. 

But alas, his resistance is breaks down and his fingers give into the trap. He opens it, itching to touch the keyboard - and not to navigate through the Internet, but to write his story. 

Back when he closed his document file, he ignored his boiling anger for not saving it, but he can feel it slowly resurfacing. It's gives him fuel to write more and to make up for what he's lost. 

'Write, I want to write,' he thinks to himself. It's as if the sentence has casted a spell on him. 

Opting to change himself in one day is far too much for Eren to carry out. His inadequate self-control loses this battle. Failing to stick to promises and continuing to give in, Eren will remain in this sinking ship.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm obsessed with asphalt 8. Also, please tell me if I made a mistake. I'll correct it. Gahhh so busy. I'm being over tested this year, so fuck whoever runs the board of ed, or whoever decided to give us eight more standard assessments in the school year (there's also those little Ib assessments in between too). Fucking thanks.

Other than the fact that he's somewhat popular for writing fanfics - specifically gay fanfics - Marco's life is typical and uneventful. Just like every other Canadian University Student, he gets up from bed, fixes himself up, eats breakfast, drives to campus, and when he's finished with his daily dose of glorious education, he drives back home to deal with his intolerable roommate, Jean Horseface Kirschtein. Marco has a group of friends, just that he tends to drift away from them. The routine comes with the addition of writing intervals between. 

As subtly mentioned before, he has a roommate, one with quite the reputation. Jean is well-regarded as an asshole but is mainly known as Horseface. He likes to think that he's the 'bad boy' of the school. Thankfully enough, Marco's inhuman kindness allows him to live with Jean without conflict. Marco knows that Jean is just like every other insecure guy out there. The two learned to rely on each other and had formed a rickety friendship through their dependence.

Today was tiring for the boy and it seemed like it took forever to pass, as if hands of the clock turned slower than usual. To make things worse, he forgot to write up his essay and rushed to finish it this morning. 

Marco lugs his body in front of his apartment door, unlocking it and slamming his chest to the wood, propelling it open. He moans to signal his arrival. As he walks inside, he leaves a trail of belongings including his backpack, shoes, sweaters, and socks. The entire setting lies in dark silence, since the lights are left closed. He follows the sound of the TV and ends up in the living room, where Jean splays his body out on the couch like a pin-up model. One of the horseface's feet rests on the coffee table, the remote lazily held in his hand.

"What's up?" Jean asks. 

"Nothing's up. The professor talked too quickly for me to take my notes down. How's your toe?" 

Yesterday, when Jean was in the shower, the new shampoo bottle slipped from his hands and fell on top of his toe. It was bleeding and Jean was crying, even though he refuses to admit it. 

He frowns and takes his feet off of the table. 

"It didn't even hurt then," he lies. Marco can easily tell, but he chooses to go along with it, sitting next to his roommate.

The TV's light is amplified in the shadowed room, where the curtains thickly cover the windows. It flashes on the carpeted floors, a pattern Marco can't help but stare at. The elements combine with the show's monotonous dialog, holding a particular and distinct sense of comfort to it. 

Suddenly, everything in Marco's being freezes. His head is in the crane of Jean's left shoulder and he hadn't even realized it slowly falling to place. He can't breathe and he can't blink. What will his roommate think? How will he react? The calming atmosphere is immediately snatched away from him, replaced by the suffocating sound of his loud and pounding heartbeat. 

In the midst of panic, Marco slowly looks up. Did Jean even notice?

To make things more surprising, Jean's hand slips through Marco's soft locks, petting him. Marco can feel the steam of his horror clouding away for a fleeting second, but his entire frame freezes up once again. Confusion - this time.

He rips himself away from his friend and gets up. The two look each other eye-to-eye. For a breathless moment, Jean can pinpoint the frightful spark in Marco's irises and Marco cringes at the surprise spilling over his roommate's features.

"So-"

"I'm going to cook something up in the kitchen, alright?" Marco hastens to say, cutting through his friend's supposed apology. He isn't sure what to do, but he knows that he's currently trying to erase the heart-racing moment they just shared. 

Jean is astonished at Marco's reaction, speechless for seconds more. Eventually, he finds himself and says something.

"Yeah," he absentmindedly answers. 

The freckled one bashfully my turns around and heads to the kitchen with a burning complexion. When he's sure that Jean can't see him, he shakes his head and clenches his fist, raising his shoulders. Details vividly replay in his mind and he tries his best to shake it away. 

Marco briefly breaks from his mini freak-out episode, staring at the entrance, where his mess still lies to be cleaned. He attends to the cleaning task first and picks up his backpack to throw it into his room. After that, he gathers his shoes and his socks in his arms, throwing those inside his room as well. The shoes are then organized in a straight line and the socks are in the hamper. 

After finishing the chore, Marco finds himself in the kitchen, where he bends over at the bottom cabinet and spots two cups of ramen noodles. He waits for the microwave to finish heating water. Upon hearing the loud beep, he pours the water into the cups and places the cover overtop the opening. 

The freckled boy still doesn't want to say anything to his roommate but he also wants to end the agonizing awkwardness. It's been lingering for far too long. 

"Hey, wait for two minutes on the clock and then pick up your ramen noodles. If you don't mind, you can deliver some to me in my room." 

"Ok," Jean faintly replies. 

With the response, he trots to his room, quickly spinning on his fancy chair before turning on the computer. It's a present from his mother, and he absolutely loves it - especially when Eren is green with envy every time he lays his eyes on it. 

It's a habit for Marco to check his email the first thing he gets on the web. He no longer needs to look at the keyboard when he types in his log in. 

His inbox is filled with a bunch of emails sent back and forth between him and Eren, where they beta-read each other's drafts. The messages remind him of the unattended collaboration yesterday and the disappointment he felt, but what else could he say? Eren was finally trying to be healthy and Marco wasn't about to discourage that. 

Marco was momentarily lost in distraction, but he soon realizes that he has a new email from someone he doesn't know. At first, he's unwilling to open it in fear of it being a spam. What he sees, however, is certainly not something he was expecting. 

'Dear Lost-Soul,

This is Hanji from the Survey Corpse. Two days from now, your friend, Green-Eyes, will celebrate his birthday. The team back in Survey Corpse wants to make sure that he enjoys it. Please contact us right away. We need you to be a part of the plan and you're crucial for this to be a success. 

Our number is 607-xxx-xxx"

The freckled boy pushes himself away from his desk, wide eyes and shallow breathing. Perhaps he's overacting. After all, it's just an email with the high possibility of being a fraud, but Marco is a dreamer and he can't help himself from thinking about the other kind of possibilities. 

At first, he's betwixt and between deleting the email straight away. He ends up rereading it ten more times and couldn't find it in his naive self to do so. Then, he's faced with the dreadful decision of dialing the number. He looks over the digits until he nearly remembers it. 

"Marco, here's your ramen noodles." 

Jean walks into the room in the midst of Marco's freak out. He holds his phone close to his face with crazed eyes. 

"I'm just gonna leave this here and close the door," the roommate says, slowly placing the cup on the table and heading out the room. 

He makes sure that he closes the door in a way that doesn't produce sound. Jean figures that Marco needs some time to be by himself. 

"Ah, fuck it," Marco mutters to himself, losing the inner battle with the more realistic side of his mind. He rapidly dials the numbers and waits for an answer. It's not as quickly as 'Hanji' would have wanted, but at least he's buying into it. 

Much to Marco's surprise, the person answers on the first ring and much to Marco's bigger surprise, the person sounds exactly like the supposed Hanji. Still incredibly skeptical, Marco firmly believes that he or she's a professional Hanji impersonator. 

"Hey there, Lost-Soul!" She says with overwhelming energy. 

"Um, when I read the email, I couldn't believe it and I still don't believe it. So, let me get this straight, are you actually Hanji?" He inquires, sounding like a lost toddler talking to a mall cop. 

"Do you want me to FaceTime you?" She asks. 

"Sure," Marco answers hesitantly. 

The woman immediately requests to chat through FaceTime and with a shaky finger, he accepts. 

Hanji appears on his screen, glasses, brown hair, brown eyes, distinct smile and all. Marco refuses to believe it. He can feel the speed of his heartbeat exponentially increasing with his fanboy levels. It gets to the point that he hardly breathe and the awkward silence between the two slowly transforms into worry. 

"Are you ok? Oh my god, oh my god. Are you ok? You know, I should be the one freaking out because I'm obsessed with your fanfics," she says. 

Her attempt at helping him regain his composure ends in disaster. Marco particularly loses it when she mentions his fanfics and her love for them. He begins to practice his breathing techniques, starting off with taking deep breaths and motioning his chest upwards and downwards as he moves. 

"You're doing a great job, Lost-Soul. Keep taking deep breaths. Oh my god. I never knew that your reaction would be so strong," she says.

"Of course it would be. I've been writing fanfics about your YouTube group and I practically know everything about you guys. And now, out of a sudden, you're face timing me. Like, I've never personally talked to you before. This is fucking crazy. Wait until I tell Eren about this," he answers with a trembling voice. 

"We did several videos of us reading fanfics, though. And sometimes, yours would be included. I actually picked them out," she proudly admits. "By the way, who's Eren?" 

"Eren is Green-Eyes while I'm Marco. And that doesn't count. I didn't actually talk to you, though. It's not like the Survey Corpse read out as much fanfics from me as you read Eren's," he argues.

"No, bad. Don't tell Eren anything. This is supposed to be a surprise. Erwin and I already planned a video about his. So, keep your beautiful mouth shut," she says. 

Marco silently nods. While he agrees to remain silent, all he can still focus on is the fact that he's talking to the one and only Hanji. 

"So, we need to figure out a place where Eren and Levi can meet up for their movie date," she says, quickly getting down to business. 

"Wait, what do you mean? Why is Levi suddenly involved in this? Couldn't Erwin do it instead? Knowing Eren, he would be perfectly fine having a movie date with Erwin as well. I don't think Levi would want to go along with this idea."

"In the video that Eren posted yesterday, he said that he wanted to watch a scary movie with Levi, so we're going to roll with it whether Levi likes it or not," she answers. 

"Does Levi even know about the plan you're coming up with?" He asks. 

She shakes her head. "We're going to tell him soon, but don't worry. We've put him through weirder things so he's used to it. It's just that he's never been on a date with anyone for a while, so this is kinda good for him too." 

"So all you need to know is where to meet up and to help get Eren there?" Marco affirms, already formulating a plan in his mind. 

Hanji nods and waits for an answer. 

There are many things Marco never expected to happen today, and one is talking to Hanji through the phone. With that, he completely foresaw having a mini heart attack following the event. But what Marco finds more bewildering, however, is going along with a birthday plan he hardly knows about. 

"Eren lives near Washington DC, so maybe we can meet up there," Marco suggests. "You guys are American residents, so I'm pretty sure you know where that's located."

Hanji nods once again, listening intently.

"Ok, so the three of you - I assume - can decide to meet him in the national mall, alright? I have Annie's phone number, which is Eren's close friend. She'll agree to drive him over there for his birthday. When they arrive, you can introduce each other, and she's going drive the three of you, including Erem, the movie theaters," Marco says. 

The freckled boy is taken aback by his ability to lead, even though it wasn't that complex of a reason. Marco knows that he's left a good impression of himself on Hanji, and he attempts to keep a straight face as he looks at her.

"That's amazing. Thank you very much! I'm so sorry that this was all last minute. Like, this is very difficult to take in and I'm thankful that you decided to jump in as well. Are you guys real life friends or have you met each other through the Internet?" She questions. Hanji squeals from excitement, unable to keep it inside her. She curls her quavering fingers into tight fists and she fervently shakes them. 

"No, we met each other through the Internet. We haven't met each other in real life either, but we plan to do so," he answers, shrugging his shoulders. 

"I want to include you in our video. You're too important to be excluded," she states. 

"You can just give me credit. It's not really that big of a deal. I'm going to save you in my contacts and I'll call to tell you what's going on." 

"I'll call you too. Oh my god, I can't wait to get there!" She screams, nearly damaging Marco's eardrums.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see the video. I'm going to hang up now," he says. His finger hovers over the red button. 

"I'll talk to you later, Marco. I'm trusting you to call Annie and tell her about the plan."

"Don't worry. I'll get her to call you. See you later too," he says. Marco finally allows himself to press the red button and end the call - not that he didn't enjoy talking to one of his biggest idol of all time, but because he could no longer keep his inner fanboy inside. 

He presses his phone to his chest, leaning on the back of his chair and relaxing his tense muscles. He hadn't realized how nervous he was, but the feeling of adrenaline was an experience to remember. With his mouth shaped like an 'o', he inhales a shaky breath, holds it in, and let's it out. The string of surprises are going to be the death of him, but he feels that if he's officially somewhat involved with the Survey Corpse, then there will be more craziness that follows, or at least, he hopes.

"Are you alright?" Jean asks through the door, his ear pressed on the wood. 

Marco wearily nods. "Mhm. I just...need to calm myself down. I just can't believe Hanji called me and I had a conversation with her. I think I'm going insane," he says.

"That's fantastic and you're already insane, idiot," the Horseface responds. 

Marco rolls his eyes, but he greatly appreciates Jean's attempt at cooling the awkward air between them. It puts less pressure on his chest and it allows him to leave. 

"Shut up," Marco snaps, muttering under his breath,"I'm going to become a madman, I tell you."

The freckled boy is sure that he's inaudible to his roommate. Old floorboards creak as Jean walks away, but he says something under his breath as well, and Marco suspects that he hadn't intended for Marco to hear it as well. He can feel the rapid palpitation in his heart come back along with the knowledge of his doom. 

"He's fucking adorable," is what Jean said. 

*

After finishing the call with Marco, Hanji immediately dials Erwin's number. An overwhelming amount of thrill surges through her veins. 

"Erwin, so Marco is now cooperating with us. This is fantastic. He said that we're going to have the date at Washington DC and that Green-Eyes' friend - Annie, I think - is going to drive us to a movie theater," she says all too quickly for the man to possibly understand.

"What?" He awkwardly replies. 

Hanji heaves a frustrated sigh, impatient. 

"Lost-Soul, who's real name is Marco, has agreed to cooperate with us," she slowly repeats to make sure that Erwin can understand.

He prods for her to continue.

"He said that we're going to meet Eren, which is Green-Eyes' name, in Washington DC and his friend, which will drive him over there, is going to take us to a movie theater."

"Alright. I'm going to put his word on the line. I'm getting the plane tickets now and I'm going to get a hotel ready for the three of us. It's your turn to get Levi," he says. 

"By the way, we're staying in DC for two nights. His friend will eventually call me. I'm texting you Marco's number. You should call him to introduce yourself. When Annie calls me, do you want me to send you her number as well?" She asks. Hanji places a hand on her shaking leg. 

"Sure. I'll introduce myself to her as well. Bye."

"Alright. Time to get Levi," she says before hanging up. 

She heads out of her home with a backpack of clothing and a camera swinging from her neck. Even before Hanji typed up the email, she prepared herself for the two-night trip. When she opens the door to her car, she throws the backpack to the passenger seats and drives, only buckling her seatbelt at the stop sign on the corner. 

Hanji shortly arrives to his friend's humble abode - a very humble abode. It's a tiny apartment complex in a building that's secluded from the normal hustle-bustle of New York City. 

The outer area is bedraggled with dirty marks and bird dodo decorating the sides, far from something Levi would ever - or at least, the clean freak Levi that she's known for years - would inhabit. 

The man has more than enough money to buy something bigger and exciting, but he continues to argue that larger homes takes a longer time to clean. Hanji believes it's an excuse with an underlying and profound meaning to it. She no longer cares to pry. 

She forcefully knocks on her friend's door and waits. From the other side, she can hear Levi's unfriendly mutterings. He opens the door donning a white sleeveless and black sweats, all accompanied by eager bags underneath stormy eyes. He doesn't ask her a question. The look on his face asks on his behalf, and it's expressed with an edgy degree of bullshit-intolerance.

"I'm here to pick you up," she happily answers. 

"For what?" He asks with his gravelly morning voice. 

"Washington DC."

"Why?" 

Levi moves out of the door opening for Hanji. After she walks inside, he closes it behind them. 

"We're going there to celebrate someone's birthday."

"Who's birthday is it going to be?" 

The man drops on his couch and runs his fingers through his black hair. He has a strong feeling that his friend has something crazy in store for him, confirming his suspicions question after question.

"You don't know him," she answers.

Levi is quick to respond. 

"Then I don't fucking care. It doesn't even concern me," he says, getting up to prepare his clothes anyway. 

Levi has gotten used to Erwin and Hanji forcing him to do stupid things together. In fact, he enjoys it sometimes. 

"No, it does."

With a raised his eyebrow, he turns around to face Hanji. For the sake of raising his morning mood, he pretends to be intrigued in hopes of actually increasing interest on the subject.

"Oh really? Why is that, exactly?" 

"Because he's a fan of yours."

The frown turns into a grimace and he rolls his eyes, immensely disappointed. He steps away from his room and flops back onto the couch. Levi rebelliously faces his friend with the same bullshit-intolerant expression as before. In spite of his composed exterior, anger begins to boil within him. 

"Then I'm not doing it, and this time, I'm putting my foot down. Are you fucking kidding me? A fan?" He begins to rant. 

"No, he's a special fan. He's extremely famous and has contributed so much to our fandom. I'm not even kidding," she defends. 

"What the hell do you mean, Hanji? What difference does it make that he's famous? Are you fucking serious?"

Levi sips in a deep breath and runs another hand through his dark locks.

"Because he's the famous Eruri fanfic writer, Green-Eyes," she desperately says, wishing to quell her friend's growing rage. 

Levi, previously furious, is instantly silent. At one point, Hanji was so hooked on Green-Eyes, a day couldn't pass without her speaking of his name. The astonished man can only fish away the bad memories from his mind. Lebi clenches his fists at the remembrance. He wanted to tear his hair out of his scalp, anything that could get his friend to stop mentioning Green-Eyes. His fist unclench. Thankfully enough, the subject of Green-Eyes died down and passed. 

"Green-Eyes," he obviously restates, asking for clarification. 

Hanji nods as she mouths out the word, "yea."

"I don't know whether this newfound piece of information makes me want to go there more or further my resentment for the idea," he lightly chuckles, a breathy and exasperated sound. 

His fingers press on the bridge of his nose. 

After three long minutes of silence, he pushes himself up from his couch and heads to his room, returning to business. There are no more words exchanged between him and his friend. Wanting to meet Green-Eyes has clarified itself in his mind - and it's an irrationally strong want. 

As he stuffs clothing, chargers, and other valuables into his backpack, he prepares questions in his mind: "Why the hell do enjoy writing shitty romance between my best friend and me?", "What in the fucking world is wrong with your mind?", "Nah, I'm not trying to make fun of you, but goddamn, why?" He sits on the floor with his feet bent beneath him and his back slouched, urging his brain to think up for more, but none surface into his mind. 

Levi nods at the well-organized collection of belongings in his backpack as well as nod at the unintentionally offensive questions in his mind - not necessarily taking pride in any of them.

He swings the pack over his shoulder, laptop under his armpit, and heads out. Hanji waits in the living room with a phone pressed on her ear. She smiles upon Levi after seeing him walk out the room with the backpack.

"Thank you for cooperating with us, Annie," she says with a tone and use of voice Levi can hardly recognize. Then, she cheerily presses the red button on her screen and turns towards her friend. 

"Who's Annie, your date?" Levi bluntly asks. 

Hanji repugnantly stares at her overly-straightforward friend with round eyes and an open-mouthed grimace.

"No! Levi, you know me better," she says. 

He smirks and huffs out a tiny giggle. 

"Got it. You and love are..."

A cross is formed with his hands and Hanji nods in response, 

"She's Green-Eyes' friend and she's going to help drive him over - You know, to make it a surprise. Green-Eyes' name is Eren, but the way," she gladly informs him. 

He raises an eyebrow.

"Erin? Like the girl name, Erin? Or the boy name, Aaron?" 

"It's spelled E-r-e-n, and it's a boy name. I thought you already knew that Green-Eyes is a guy. I mean, you always had to pay attention to me talk about him."

Levi begins to lead his friend go of the door. He grabs a water bottle, his keys, and his camera, giving the picture-taking device to his friend. 

"I never really paid attention, and that was, like, last year. Unless it's important, I never really remember anything that long," he says. The raven-haired man pushes the door open for his friend and after she walks out, he follows and closes the door behind him. 

"So you're just going to stay in those clothes?" She asks, even though the two have made it out of his apartment. 

"I'm going to be fucking comfortable on my plane ride to Washington DC. Besides, I didn't get any sleep because I spent the whole night making love to video games and creating YouTube material for my subscribers. Therefore, I deserve to be comfy," he sassily replies.

"Did you pack any good clothes, at least?" 

He nods. 

"My entire closet is a reflection of my amazing sense of style, so of course," he says with a voice that's still monotone, but in a way, humorous. 

She shrugs and accepts the answer. 

The two head to the parking lot, empty and littered with city trash. Something from somewhere smells vile and Levi pinches his nose. The area is normally clean, but he predicts that someone ran over a squirrel in a nearby road and disposed of it's carcass in the building's garbage cans. 

"Which car? Yours or mine?" She asks. 

"Yours. You're the one making me go to Washington DC anyway. Also, I want to sleep in your back seats since they're plusher than mine."

Hanji nods with her lips pressed into a tight line. As the two approach her car, she takes her car keys from her pocket. 

"Ahh, and plushiness counts for everything when getting one of your heavenly naps, am I right?" 

"Don't patronize me," he wearily says, traces of his sleepiness showing through. 

"Alright, Mr. Ackerman."

Levi takes Hanji's wrist and grips it tight. 

"I said don't patronize me," he repeats with more seriousness. 

Hanji twists her wrist and breaks away from her moody friend. With his inability to focus and regulate his feelings, she figures that Levi truly needs the sleep. Hanji rushes to the car and opens the passenger seat for her friend. Even his steps seem wobbly and weak. He walks inside and buckles himself up. When she settles on her seat and looks behind her, his head is slowly bobbing down, like a violently flickering, but dying candlelight. 

"He's like a kid," she says to herself, knowing that if Levi is awake to hear her, she would be dead meat. 

Levi doesn't like to be patronized, but when witnessing him acting like a child, it's a challenge for the four-eyed woman to keep her mouth shut. 

She drives away and heads to the airport.

In contradiction with his first impression, he's a rather talkative guy (unless crossed), and his voice is usually there to fill up the silence. Hanji's on the wheel with only the sound of New York traffic as accompaniment. 

Unfortunately, one of her biggest enemies is brevity. She shifts on her seat, taps her fingers, distracts herself, but she remains in severe discomfort in the whole ride. 

"Levi, I'm very unreasonable. I want you to be awake instead of getting a good sleep because I want to have a conversation. I'm want to talk more than I want you to nap," she admits. 

Her friend doesn't answer. His head slips from the seatbelt and leans on the window. 

She sighs and continues to drive. 

*  
The household of Annie Leonhardt is filled with feuds and family battles and in her overly-exposed ears, she constantly hears the threats of divorce in addition to battle cries and shitty arguments. A victim to the fighting for years, she's accustomed to it and doesn't need to drown it out. 

She was lying on her bed when she hears a different sound, her phone ringing - and she doesn't call people often. When she answers it, she first has a secret conversation with a Canadian boy she hardly knows. Following the sudden plan to set Eren up with one of youtube's hottest gamers, she converses and introduces herself to her friend's two Survey Corpse idols. 

It was all an incredible experience, really. 

Annie's back is on the bed and her eyes facing the ceiling once again. Her blonde hair is free from it's pony tail and strands scatter around her head. In her mind, she's far from talking to Eren. His birthday is tomorrow, which is completely irrelevant to today. Instead, she focuses on whether she should shave half of her head, asking herself if she'd rock the hairstyle. 

She does give a shit for Eren. Heck, she gives a shit and a half: more than enough shits she'd give to a person. Annie already has a present prepared for her friend, which are three CD's of Journey's album, Revelation. She considered giving him Escape, but she loves Steve Perry too much to let him go. 

*

Valiantly driving through traffic, Hanji made it to the airport at a safe time before their flight. Levi was incredibly reluctant to pause from his nap and leave the car, but managed to navigate through the mass of people in the airport to make it to their station. They meet Erwin, who informed Hanji that the two teenagers are familiar with him. The two wait as Levi went back to sleep and eventually, they boarded their flight. In the plane, Levi slept and the wakeful duo planned videos in their notebooks, listened to their music, or read books on their phones. 

Now, Levi is in a better mood after getting his sleep, whereas Hanji's glasses grew a little clouded, and Erwin remained perfect - which wasn't very difficult for him to do. The three have made it to Washington DC, stopped for hot dogs, and arrived to their hotels. 

They walk inside with greasy hair and oily noses, a worse condition than they were when they entered the plane. The smiling woman behind the cash register hands Erwin a card and sends another employee to lead the trio to the room, also carrying their bags. 

"My ass aches," Hanji whines. 

"Stop complaining you damn moron. You came up with the idea of coming over here anyway," says Levi, but the brunette's complaints carry on. 

He rolls his eyes and sighs. The miserable porter stands in the middle of their altercation, calling it another day of work. 

"Hey, no need to get verbally abusive here," Erwin cuts in. 

The porter takes them to their room, opens the door, and places all of their belongings on their beds. Erwin thanks him as Hanji falls onto one of the beds and Levi disappears into the bathroom. When the boy is gone, Erwin pulls out his camera and begins to record. 

"You know, there are lots of things you can do in Washington DC. We shouldn't be staying here for the entire afternoon," Hanji weakly says, focusing on the ceiling. 

"I know, but we can't leave this place until we get ourselves cleaned up. I mean, I'm not as bad as you and Levi are, but I still need to clean myself up," Erwin responds. 

He's slightly confused that Hanji would want to stroll through Washington DC with her bottom in pain, but he isn't about to question her logic. 

"You guys do whatever you want. I'm going to stay here for the entire afternoon and sleep," Levi adds, the sound of his voice echoing through the shower walls. 

Hanji gets up from the bed, suddenly enthusiastic. 

"Hear that? We can just leave him here. Let's go. I want to explore Washington DC. I haven't been here in a while and I really want to see all the interesting museums in the national mall," she rapidly says, like a little kid. 

Erwin thinks about it and weighs the pros and cons. He doesn't see why not, but is irrationally against the plan. The man presses the recording button once again, finishing they video and putting his camera back into his backpack. 

"We'll just wind down a minute more. I haven't even gotten the chance to sit and relax."

Erwin sits on the bed beside Hanji's. She rolls her eyes. 

"Oh my god, we've been sitting on a plane for an hour straight. I think we've done enough sitting for the day," she says, shaking her leg. 

Hanji does bring up a good point. He runs a hand through his hair, messing up it's neat parting. Quiet settles along with the sound of pitter-pattering of water. Erwin relishes in the peacefulness while Hanji and her impatient legs dread it. The man looks back at his friend, who's picked herself up from the bed and is standing beside the door. 

"C'mon. I'm going to go without you and it's going to be less fun," she mutters, looking down to the floor. 

As she anticipates the answer, her fingers fidget and pinch her palm. 

Erwin doesn't see the harm in going. It's been a while since he's allowed himself to have fun - and not just through video games. Perhaps a week or so, which is long enough to call him old. 

"Alright. Let's go," he answers through a sigh.

The man picks himself up from the bed, grabs the keycard, and takes his camera, following his satisfied friend through the door. 

Thirty minutes later, Levi steps out of the steaming bathroom with a towel snuggly wrapped around his torso and another one wrapped around his hair. It was a good and calming shower, lengthy because he enjoyed it that much. The entire room is empty and he figures that his friends have gone around Washington DC without him. 

'At least it's silent,' he thinks. 

He walks around as he dries. The floor is made out of hardwood and is cold, very cold. A shiver runs down Levi's spine, but he continues to walk. It's a small hotel room with two beds, a couch, and some expensive-looking decorations. The window is gigantic and currently shuttered, but is meant to be a great view of the city. 

Eventually, he dresses himself in sleepwear and drops onto the bed for a second round of sleeping. 

*

Eren awakens two hours before his alarm clock normally assaults his morning to the sinful sound of rapping on his room door. With red eyes and a prominent frown, he lazily gets himself up from his bed to open the door. Annie stands on the other side, baffling at first, but the surprise slowly transforms into seething anger. 

"Why the hell are you here so early in the morning?" He asks with a groggy voice. 

The young man wants to sound furious and is itching to scream at his crazy friend, but after awaking merely seconds ago, he's incredibly weak and unable to do so. Instead, he shoots her a look of pure malice. 

"I'm here to give you your present," she says, handing the confused boy a bag. 

"What is it?" He asks, looking up at her. 

His eyes feel tinier and heavier than they are and it's difficult for him to keep his lids open. 

"Since you're obviously too tired to figure anything out for yourself, it's Journey," she answers. 

Eren's lazy eyes widen and a smile carves itself on his stoic face. He jumps and takes the CD out of the bag, growing more excited when he sees the album cover of the winged fire beetle. The young man entirely forgets about the presence of his friend and squeals, throwing the bag behind him and jumping with the CD in his hands. 

Eren's happiness is contagious and Annie can't help the faint smile on her face as she watches him fanboy over the present. 

"Thank you," he says, suddenly wrapping his arms around her. 

"You're very welcome," she says. 

The surge of cheeriness helped pull him out of his sluggish haze. Eren can begin to think more solid and clear thoughts. 

After pulling away, he asks,"Why are you here so early in the morning?" He pauses to dig deeper into the scenario. "And you also used Mikasa's key to get into the house. This means that you're here for an important reason, am I right?" 

"Somewhat. It's important to you, but not to me. I'm doing this off your birthday, so don't be mad at me for waking you up so early in he morning," she says, walking inside his room. 

Eren backtracks, standing in front of his friend to keep her from getting any further. 

"So you just use Mikasa's key to get into my house, but you knock on my room door? That doesn't make sense. I don't get your logic," he says. 

"She gave me the key for a reason. Also, if I were to knock on your house door, you wouldn't be awake to answer me," she answers. 

"But why are you just walking into my room without permission?" He asks. 

Annie stares at her friend for a while, incredulous. She sighs and rolls her eyes, walking back out of his room. 

"May I come in?" She asks, faking a wide and courteous smile. 

"You can," Eren answers. 

After the silly interaction, Annie walks back inside. 

"Happy now?" She asks. 

Eren nods childishly. 

"Of course." 

Annie heads to his drawers and begins rummaging through his clothes, all of which are newly washed.

"Great job on the room, by the way. You did a great job on it," she says. 

"Thank you," Eren proudly answers. 

"Also, did you stay up yesterday night?" 

"No. I tried to sleep really early. It's just that it was a shitty sleep because my body clock isn't used to the sudden adjustments yet - not to mention, you woke me up so damn early in the morning. What's wrong with you?" 

"Nothing's wrong with me. We're going to go somewhere really far and in order to get there on time, I need to get you ready right now," she answers. 

Eren turns on his radio and places the third CD on the player. Journey's greatest hits begins to play - not the shitty sound quality in YouTube videos, but the best version of their songs possible, and Eren is pleased, beyond pleased. To lighten the morning air, he begins to break into a few sick moves. 

"I love this song," he says. 

"Stone in love?" She asks, looking over her shoulder. 

"Fucking stone in love," he responds, even when the title of the song isn't Stone in Love. It's a little joke between the two. 

"That's great." 

She throws a shirt behind her and begins her search in his second drawer. 

"Put this on. You're going to be wearing this shirt." 

Eren picks it up from the floor, holding it up. It's a black polo that he hasn't worn in approximately two years. Even after the state of being buried by other clothes, it surprisingly maintains a condition that doesn't require ironing. 

"I don't like this shirt. It's going to be really tight on me," he whines. 

"But because it's really tight on you, you look really good in it," she says. 

"How are you supposed to know when you haven't seen me in the shirt yet?" He argues, raising an eyebrow. 

Annie's patience is as abundant as trees on the Earth, which is quickly running out. She turns around to meet him in the eyes. Her glare has a deathly burn to it, enough to make Eren look away. 

"Just. Try. It. On," she insists with a threatening tone. 

Eren gives up and he takes off his shirt to try on the black polo. 

"Alright. Geez. Can I choose a shirt that I like when I don't want to wear it?" He inquires, fretful and a little bit plaintive. 

"Sure, but you have to try on my choices first. I'm trying to dress you in a way that sets a good impression. What I worry about is that you don't dress to impress at all. You dress according to how willing you are to get into the clothes," she blatantly states. 

Despite the truth behind her statement, Eren is still somewhat offended, but he doesn't argue. Annie is too intelligent and stubborn to argue with, similar to Mikasa. 

The blonde turns back around in search for more clothes. A second later, she throws jeans at him. Eren is just pulling down his new shirt. It's snug and surprisingly comfy, but he tries to appear as if he doesn't enjoy the fit. 

"These jeans have a nice color," she says, implying that the rest of the jeans in his drawer is faded and badly taken care of. 

Eren doesn't read into it, however. He puts on the jeans as directed, which are tighter than it looked. 

"Why the hell are all of your clothing choices so damn tight?" He asks, squeezing himself into the jeans. 

It's not too tight, just snug. As his shirt, it fits him well and he feels quite confident to be wearing the clothes. 

"Because you have a good figure. You just hide it behind your baggy clothes and bad sense of style. You look good. In fact, if I were to see you in a bar, I would be more than willing to get down on you - not just because you look amazing, but because you look like you look intelligent as well," she says, making his friend blush. 

"Don't say that! It's embarrassing when you say something like 'I would be more than willing to get down on you'. Like, are you dressing me to get laid? Is that what this is about? I mean, still being a virgin is perfectly fine. It doesn't make me less cooler," he says. 

The young boy's face is a raging scarlet. Even Annie can feel the humiliation. Annie is normally bewildered by his lacking self-esteem, but by now, she's gotten too used to it. 

"You need to learn how to love yourself, not the characters you write, not the things that you do, but yourselve. Your lacking confidence is an unattractive quality between you and your friends. You need to get rid of that sick, self-pitying mindset and learn how to love yourself. That's the most important thing you'll ever learn to do," she says, tilting her head to the side. "Have you ever tried that? Have you tried loving yourself?" 

Eren's face burns brighter than ever. He tries to counter her argument, something to validate his pathetic character, but despite everything she's said is true, even with her harsh inflection. Truth of the matter is, he never thought about it before. 

"See, you try to improve the surroundings around you and you always try to get better with this weird writing condition of yours, but how do you expect to make any improvements when you don't look to yourself first?" She asks. 

He hates to admit it, but he sees her point and can't help but agree. Eren hates moments like this, where she's giving him a lecture, he's silent as he listens, agrees, and despises himself for doing so. After her tiny speech, she sighs to break the silence. Her blue eyes are the dull and dark color of rainclouds, close to bursting into an unforgiving hurricane. Eren can practically feel the force of the jet-like downpour and the animalistic roar of lightning. 

Annie rubs her temples and her previously tense posture relaxes. She just realized that it's too early to get worked up. 

"I love you, Eren. That's why I'm saying this. I not saying this because Mikasa told me to watch over you, because all the important people in your world just...left," she says, cringing at the final word. "I'm saying this because you're important to me and it physically hurts to see your hurting yourself like that." 

Eren smiles, glad that the lecture didn't have to end with Annie in the midst of fury. He's a little surprised that Annie would easily unwind in front of him. Normally, the things that she says are more sarcastic. Eren suspects that something happened to her back at home. 

"Love you too, Annie," he answers. 

The air is no longer suffocating the two, but Eren is a little more wary of what he's doing, knowing that it could be causing his friend more stress than she needs.

"Why don't you try walking around in your jeans a bit? See if it fits weirdly anywhere," she suggests. 

He begins walking around the room, ensuring that the fit of his jeans are the best. He also sits on his bed, smiling. It's perfect on him. 

"I need to be more conscious of my clothing," he says, Annie strongly nodding in agreement. 

"Do you want to go now?" Eren asks, excited for what she has in store for him. 

His eyes light up like Christmas trees and his smile is as fresh as spring. There's a childish air to his enthusiasm, something Annie can't ignore - and Eren knows that he normally doesn't act like this, but for the sake of such a day, he wants to act like the happiest version of himself. The attitude passes down to Annie. 

Annie smiles as well. "Sure, let's go." 

The two head outside to Annie's car, a simple Honda Civic, which is the most her parents can afford. 

Eren was about to ask for breakfast, but once he's inside, he sees a dozen donuts at the back of Annie's car and two cups of coffee on the frontal cup holders. 

"You always come in prepared, don't you?" He asks as she drives away from their street. 

"I can't wait for you to finish eating your breakfast inside. Also, this is going to be a long ride, so these serve as our snacks as well."

"How long?" He asks. 

Annie hums and taps the wheel as she makes the calculations in her head. 

"If we're going to get stuck in traffic, which I hope won't happen, it'll be around three hours. But if everything goes smoothly as planned-"

Annie's phone loudly rings, interrupting her answer. She immediately picks it up and presses it to her ear. Talking on the phone while driving is a violation of the law, but it seems that Annie is the master of talking while driving. 

"Yes, hello?" 

Annie looks at Eren before she answers. 

"Oh um, ok. So you're the glasses one...yeah. I already got him dressed...Yeah. Eren and I were just talking about it. I was going to say that if everything went smoothly as planned, then we will get there in an hour and forty-something minutes.....alright, bye."

She hangs up and places her phone on her lap. 

"Annie, who was that?" Eren inquires. 

"You'll find out soon," she answers. "But you heard what I said to the person, right? That it'll be an hour and forty-something minutes if the ride goes smoothly." 

"Yeah, I know. Where exactly are you taking me?" He asks. 

Annie rolls her eyes and sighs. 

"Can you stop asking questions and allow yourself to be surprised? Geez, it's not like I'm actually taking you to the woods to kill you or anything....or am I?" She jokes. 

Eren is not amused that he has to wait, but follows her advice nonetheless. He turns on the radio, leaning on his palm as he watches the houses and trees pass by, and comparing it to the standstill blueness of the sky. Pop music begins to play, something else to entertain him by. 

*

"Oh my god, they're almost here and we haven't even gotten you dressed yet. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. I'm going to lose my mind!" Hanji shrieks, surely waking up her neighbors. 

It's early in the morning and the entire hotel had been in deep silence until. Erwin, who had been semi-conscious and listened to a part of the conversation, jerks to total wakefulness as his friend loses her shit. 

She clenches her hair, gripping each strand tightly, and almost pulling a patch out. Her glasses are left on the desk, and there are still marks on her cheek from the way she laid down on the bed yesterday night. Hanji's complexion is pale and heavy bags weigh below her eyes, showing that she's being driven to insanity. 

Erwin gets up from the couch, rushing to his panicked friend. The woman was just at the phone, talking to Annie. Earlier, she seemed lax and perfectly sane, but after the call ended, everything in her system flip flopped. 

The blonde man presses an index finger to his lips, signaling to shush the blaring woman. Hanji pauses from her frenzy to meet him in the eyes, blue like the sky, but sunless from fatigue. 

"You're freaking out over nothing," he says in a soothing tone. "You're ok. We still have...what did Annie say?" He asks. 

As he eavesdropped in his semi-conscious state, he missed bits and parts of what she said - leaving the information unprocessed. 

"One hour and forty-something minutes," she answers, calming down. 

Erwin relaxes, expecting the situation to be worse. She tends to lose herself over trivial things.

"See? That's perfectly fine. We're ok, alright?" 

Hanji nods, pressing her lips together in an attempt to silence herself. She's slowly merging back into reality, and it makes her more aware of her erratic behavior. 

"Yeah, I'm ok," she assures herself, relaxing. 

"What the hell is going on in here?" another voice asks.

The two face their friend on the bed, raising his head to see what the commotion was about. He lies underneath covers and his hair is messed up from the lengthy slumber. Bags aren't as clear on his face as they normally are and his morning sulk doesn't indicate as much irritation. Perhaps it's his skin's glow that captivated the two's eyes, or maybe it's the light spilling on the sheets from the window nearby. 

"She's freaking out because Annie and Eren are on their way here in about two hours and yeah, you haven't even gotten yourself out of bed yet," Erwin answers. 

He lets go of his friend, leaving it to her to calm herself down. 

"Wait, what? Where are we even going to meet?" He asks.

"We agreed on the gigantic pencil monument thingy," answers Hanji, still a slight shudder to her voice. Then, as if snapping back to her previous state of mind, she says, "We need to get you ready."

She paces to Levi's backpack, zipping it open to look through his clothing. Levi, accustomed to his privacy being invaded, let's her as he gets up from the bed to stretch. His legs are heavy and the annoying folds of his pajama pants finally disappear. Levi's movements are slow and he pulls his shirt down, which shifted as he slept.

Erwin get's ready as well, heading to the bathroom with his outfit hanging from his arm. 

"Here," she says. 

Hanji throws a piece of clothing at Levi's face. The material is cold and soft on his fingers as he takes it in his hands. It's a white tee with a flowery, zentangle design in the middle. The shirt is one of his favorites, a loose fit and an easy match for other jackets, shorts, pants, and shoes. He immediately takes off his current shirt to don the tee only to have another article of clothing thrown at him. He holds it in front of him: ripped, blue jeans.

"Damn, I didn't know you were such the fashionista. I mean, you brought in a lot of good clothes that match each other nicely, so I can just throw anything at you and when you put it on, it would match," she says, impressed with his choices. 

Levi wearily nods, still somewhat dazed from his sleep. 

"Yeah, I have a special group of clothing I take when everything is last minute and I have to travel somewhere, since you and Erwin always do that to me," he responds as he eases into the jeans.

Hanji holds up short, high-waisted shorts. She looks to her friend with pure incredulity expressed on her features; large eyes and jaw dropped. 

"Why the hell did you bring this?"she inquires. 

"Because I wanted to," he casually answers. 

Levi crosses his arms on his chest, the morning heat leaving him. 

"Hey, look through my bag and get me my black cardigan," he orders. 

Hanji places the colorful shorts on the floor to dig through his bag. She takes out the demanded cardigan and throws it at his face. 

"Do you absolutely have to throw it at my face?" He asks, angrily taking the cardigan from his face and putting it on sleeve after sleeve. 

"You never catch it, though. I was expecting your Levi instincts to kick in and, you know, catch it," she playfully answers. 

Erwin exits the bathroom with his outfit on and a face that's as dashing as ever. 

"Are you guys ready to leave?" He asks. 

"Sure," Levi answers with mock enthusiasm. 

He heads to the door and slips on his converses. Hanji rushes out of the door and holds it open for her two friends. Levi walks out with the keycard and Erwin with the camera. He presses the record button and begins to film their journey out of the hotel and to the Washington memorial.

*

Unfortunately, it wasn't as smooth as Annie thought, but then again, nothing in her life ever goes smoothly. She didn't expect encountering traffic, but she wasn't surprised. In addition, Eren's complaints are slowly growing, greatly contributing to her irritation. 

"Are we there yet?" He whines.

"Don't be that person, Jaeger. Please, we're almost there. Please be patient and shut your mouth."

He frowns at her and takes another donut from the cardboard package. The donuts with the chocolate frosting got eaten up, so they were left with the strawberry frosted donuts. The pink layer shine with the bright sunlight like plastic.

"Do you want one?" He asks.

Annie nods.

"Alright. We're going to be staying here for a while, anyway. We're going to be a little late than we planned," she answers.

Eren heaves a heavy and impatient sigh, frowning. He despises long car drives more than anything, so he hopes that the excruciating wait is worth it. 

He hands her another donut and she thanks him as she takes it in her hands. Eren presses the radio on, which he turned off a while ago. 

In the meantime, all he can do is stare at the passing scenery on the window and think about the fanfics ideas that he'll write when he returns home. The blazing sun is fully revealed on the sky, no longer peeking through the horizon. This is when the day begins, when adults go to work and children go to school - Eren understands why it's so busy. 

He sighs once again. All he can do is suck it up and deal with it. 

*

Levi taps his foot on the floor, a hand to his hip. The three stand on the Washington Monument area, where it's still empty from tourists. 

They had just gotten the call from Annie - bad news about getting stuck in traffic. 

He sulks and crosses his arms in front of him. Erwin is elsewhere, taking advantage of his opportunity to film the beauty of the national mall and leaving the two alone, 

"The things that I do for a stupid brat's birthday," he mutters to himself. 

Hanji playfully elbows him. 

"Hey, he's important in our fandom, ok? This is also our form of saying thank you for all of contributions he's made," she tells him. "For now, all we can do is wait." 

He sighs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I'm becoming more active on Instagram. If you don't already know, I do art stuff.   
> My username: suck_my_sexual_banana


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My school is killing me with all the exams. Also, so many expectations from mother. So much pressure shouldn't be put on me. I'm stuck between giving up my violin and continuing to play it. BUT AT LEAST IRELAND VOTED ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE YESSSSSS

"Oh my god, are we there yet?" Eren moans, frustrated with traffic and Annie's ruthless driving style. 

Annie would harshly brake and the two would lurch forward. The pattern continued for the rest of the way. After sitting in the car for longer than he should have, Eren feels as if he's about to puke, resulting in more complaints and whining. It's driving Annie to absolute madness. 

"We're almost there," she says, finally pin-pointing the parking building she was searching for. 

"Wait, what are we doing in DC?" Eren inquires, much to his friend's annoyance. 

Annie rolls her eyes and doesn't answer. She goes on a search for a parking spot, which proves to be a challenge when a majority of the parking spots are occupied. Eren opens his mouth to ask the question once again, but after observing his enervated friend, he closes his mouth and chooses to be silent. 

After five minutes, they settle on a spot. Eren pulls his arms to the side and bends awkwardly in order to stretch, glad that he's finally released from the prison-like area. Annie watches and waits until he's finished. 

"So, what are we doing here in DC?" He reiterates. 

She doesn't answer straight away. Annie can feel her inflating patience and her temper rising from her friend asking the same question. She let's it go with a loud sigh. 

"We're here for your birthday. Now, I'm supposed to be covering your eyes for the surprise, but I don't feel like dealing with you like this, so I'm just going to walk you over there and have you close your eyes when you're close enough," she instructs and Eren nods like a puppy. 

The two head out of the parking building and out to the national mall. Annie dials a number in her phone, a number Eren hasn't recognized before. 

He's noticed that Annie has been on the phone more often recently, especially today, but he hadn't said anything. He figures that it's clearly part of his birthday plan. 

She presses the phone to her ear. 

"Alright. We're here. We're heading over there right now, bye," she says, quickly pressing the 'end call' button. 

Suddenly, her pace speeds up and Eren struggles to remain by her side. There's a new purpose to her walking, causing her to rush. Fortunately, there aren't too many people roaming in the national mall, meaning there's less obstacles standing their way. 

The national mall is filled with museums and colorful vendors. Most of them are closed, but some started to open for the public. Eren is tempted to leave his friend's side and head to a museum. A day in Washington DC is enough to satisfy him - especially when they're walking to somewhere else in an incredibly slow rate. 

In the center of the national mall, a field of bright green lies. Some people group together in a far area to fly their kites while dog owners throw frisbees or sticks for their dogs to catch. Several photographers are present, awkwardly posing to take their photos. 

After two minutes, Eren's energy completely drained and he can no longer keep up to his friend's walking. He isn't used to his heart beating so quickly, his chest being incredibly heavy, or his breathing to be incredibly shallow. Poor Eren thinks he's dying. He's severely out of shape, so it's isn't much of a surprise to her friend. 

"Can you please slow down? I feel like I'm about to trip and fall," he asks.

Annie responds by slowing down a bit, but the difference in speed isn't enough to help him. 

"What's the rush anyway?" 

"I figured that if I were you, I would want to speed up as well. In fact, I'm pretty sure you would begin running,"she nonchalantly answers. 

Eren is incredulous. It's been two minutes of rigorous speed walking and Annie isn't the least bit tired. She isn't out of breath and she hasn't even broke out into a sweat. 

"How even?" Eren breathlessly responds as he stares at her with round eyes. 

At his amazement, words refuse to pop in his mind. 

"There's this thing called exercise. It's amazing. You should try it out some time. I mean, it's helped me out so much," she sarcastically replies. 

Eren rolls his eyes, but he notices that they're on their way to the Washington monument. The pencil-like structure is encircled with American flags and tiny trees. Its tip seems like it's about to pierce the sky, as if the azure of the atmosphere rests on the monument's shoulders. Eren can't take his eyes off of it, shushed and speechless, but Annie is glad that his voice is no longer there to bother her.

"Ok, time to close your eyes," she says, snapping Eren out of his wondrous stupor. 

"What?" 

He hadn't caught a word of what she said. 

Annie walks behind Eren and covers his eyes with both of her hands. 

"Oh, alright. Time to close my eyes for the surprise," he says, catching on. 

"Mhm."

Eren proceeds to trek in darkness. The two exponentially slow their walking. It feels as if the darkness is going to last forever, but he gives up asking his friend questions. He knows, however, that he's getting closer and closer to the monument. With the increasing slope, there's no doubt about it. 

'Why would she cover my eyes when I already know where we're going to go?' He asks himself. 

The duo slows to a stop and Eren figures that this is it, this is his surprise. Even though it's not that big of a deal, he can feel his heart beating out of his chest. He can even hear his rampaging heartbeat in his ears. 

Annie is silent for a reason, and that is for dramatic effect. She can hear her friend's rising anxiety and is quite entertained.

"Are you ready?" She finally asks. 

Eren can hear a smile behind her voice, but he chooses to ignore her. He sighs to calm himself down. 

"Sure." 

Annie quickly takes her hands off of his face, unveiling the three people standing before him. Eren can't believe it. No words come to his mouth. 

"Oh my god," is all he can bring himself to say. 

They're not just three people, but the three people found in his most outlandish fantasies. The one standing in the middle has the wildest smile, with exciting brown eyes and glasses overtop. Her brown hair is styled in her usual pony tail. Eren points to her first.

"Hanji..." He faintly says, nearly an inaudible whisper. 

She giggles and nods, confirming that she is, indeed, Hanji. 

The one standing to the left of her appears to be the most welcoming. His gentle blue eyes and blonde hair makes Eren weak on the knees. The man has a harmonious Prince Charming atmosphere and with the way he carries himself, he might as well be Prince Charming. His devastating looks practically steal the air out of Eren's lungs. He points to him next. 

"Erwin..." He says, and the blonde responds the same way as Hanji - by nodding. 

Erwin's smile grows wider as he extends his hand. It seems as if everything in Eren's world slowed down - the people behind him aren't moving, Annie is standing still behind him, waiting, and all the neighboring noises are distorted and inaudible. He can't believe he's taking Erwin's hands and giving it a shake. 

After the interaction, he turns back to his friend, who's recording him with her phone. He mouths out, 'oh my god' and she suppresses a smile from his reaction. 

Eren turns back to face the shortest one in the group, standing slightly behind everybody, as if he slightly doesn't want to be visible. He has pitch-black hair, steel grey eyes, and a porcelain complexion. He dons an adorably designed outfit with ripped jeans and a cardigan. Eren's heart melts. This is the man he's been crushing on ever since eight grade. His finger points to him at last. 

"Levi..." He says. 

The short man nods and takes a tiny step forwards. 

"Happy birthday, Green-Eyes," he mutters, sarcastically motioning his hands in celebration. 

His eyes are soulless and apathetic and his body language indicates no enthusiasm whatsoever. He's no different from his YouTube persona at all. Eren remains oblivious to it since his mind has entirely drifted away to dreamland. 

"Thank you," he absentmindedly says. 

Hanji, however, is unhappy with Levi's attitude and she elbows him in the stomach to show that he's being a douchebag. Erwin disapprovingly nods at him, a wordless order to cut it out. Levi grimaces and rubs the elbowed area. 

The air between the five people become awkwardly silent. This has all been planned last minute, meaning that the trio forgot to come up with a proper introduction for themselves other than the part where Annie covers Eren's eyes. Surely, they foretold Levi's problematic behavior, but they hadn't expected him to increase tensions so quickly. 

Hanji decides to speak up. 

"Anyway, as you may know, we're part of your favorite gaming group, the Survey Corpse. We're all glad to be here to celebrate your birthday. This is our way of saying thank you for everything you've done for our fandom. We're very grateful," she says. 

Erwin mentally applauds his friend for her bravery to end the awkwardness. Eren is still completely oblivious to it. He fervently nods like a puppy. 

"Thank you very much," he gladly responds before turning to his best friend. 

She still holds the camera in her hand. 

"Thank you for doing this to me," he says. 

Annie nods. "Your welcome, sweetheart." 

"I think it's time," says Hanji.

Annie nods once again, turning off her phone and pocketing it. Erwin heads off to elsewhere, fetching a camera that had been recording the meeting the entire time. It stood in a tripod Hanji carried for him, which he was incredibly thankful for. He returns to the group with a tripod under one arm and a camera held in another. 

"Alright. Let's go then," says Annie, turning back and leading the group of five away from the Washington Memorial. 

Eren goes back to staring at the stature with awe and reverence. The country's flags encircle the entire area and Eren looks around to savor the patriotic scenery. He's never a sky so blue, a building so tall, and a view as beautiful as this. In his mind, he suggests that he's merely overreacting to everything, but he blows the thought away to keep it from bothering him. 

He looks to the three people walking behind him, all silent and looking back at him. Levi's stare portrays disinterest. 

"Are we heading back to the car?" Eren asks to anybody that knows the answer. 

"Yes we are because we're taking you to the movie theaters," announces Hanji, almost jumping up and down. 

"Wait, I know that you guys are doing this for my birthday, but how did you even know that it's today? How did you arrange this...plan?" He inquires. 

"Oh, I've been watching your videos for a really long time. Yes, it's weird reading your fantasies and your made up situations when it's about my two best friends, but I read fanfics all the time," she answers, but she isn't finished and she speaks faster than Eren has ever heard anybody speak. "So I watched the answer video where you answered questions from your ask box and your birthday. I saw that you wanted to go on a movie date with Levi for your birthday, but you were clearly sarcastic and I wanted it to actually happen," she says. 

Eren is blown away. He doesn't know how to react to his hero telling him that she's a huge fan of his work. He hadn't even expected the idea. 

"I knew that Lost-Soul - as in, Marco - was your best friend, so I emailed him and got him to FaceTime me and we discussed how we were going to make this happen. Then, he got Annie involved and yeah, we flew over here yesterday," she says.

The teenager could hardly understand, but he got the gist of what she was explaining. 

"So we're actually going to watch a movie together?" He asks. 

Hanji nods."But you said that you wanted to watch it with Levi only, so it's going to be the two of you," she answers. 

"I'm fine with everybody watching it with me. In fact, I would be happier that way," Eren says, shrugging. 

Hanji thinks about it for a while. 

"I really wanted this thing to be a date-thingy between the both of you guys to get the Internet really stirred up, but yeah. We're supposed to be doing this for you, not for the Internet." 

Eren's heartbeat accelerates. The idea of messing with their fans isn't such a bad idea, but he can't speak in favor for it when he's already expressed his viewpoint. 

"You know, I actually want to do that," he says anyway, cringing at himself.

"Me too," says Erwin. 

"I don't," adds Levi. 

While Hanji's face lights up, Levi's grimace grows and he crosses his arms in front of his chest. The woman turns to her friend, shocked. Her mouth is ajar and her eyebrows are angled downwards to express her anger. 

"And why not?" She indignantly asks. 

"Because I don't want to be in a date with this brat just to get your fans a little excited," he states. 

"You're no fun, Levi," Hanji says, pouting. 

"And I don't care...I don't want to do it," he insists. 

Deep down, however, Levi would have to give up his stance on the subject, especially when he's facing the birthday boy. Birthday people are his secret weakness, but Hanji doesn't know. Eren's face drops and his radiant smile turns into a straight line. 

He's perfectly fine with either choice, but his indecisiveness is causing conflict in the group. 

"No, we're going," says Hanji. 

Eren remains silent, humiliated. Levi notices Eren's slightly raised shoulders, and his fisted hands. Just as he opens his mouth to say something, Eren's friend jumps in. 

"I got a better idea, we can all be quiet and decide when we actually get to the mall," Annie suggests, but it's more like a command. 

Everybody listens to her loud and clear. They all shut their mouths and walk in silence. The entire event isn't going as well as Hanji wanted it to, but she decides to shut her trap for the meantime. Erwin is highly impressed by the blonde's leadership skills while Levi is glad nobody is talking. 

The Washington Monument slowly shrinks as the group walks further away. Eren eventually loses his fascination for the structure and he can finally get himself to stop staring. His neck aches, but he doesn't complain. The group is close to the parking lot. 

"We're almost there," assures Annie. 

The walk took longer than the walk towards the monument, since she isn't speed walking. 

They finally make it to the dark parking building. On their way, Hanji began speaking once again, but she doesn't return to the topic of the movie date. Instead, she discusses about her ideas for future videos with Erwin, who's willing to give her his input. 

The building is dark and silent, as if someone behind them could jump at any given time. There's a frightening air to the place, but Annie and Levi remains unfazed. Hanji isn't afraid, but her voice seems louder in the echoing area. The five finally makes it to Annie's small car. Eren sits on the front seat while Hanji, Levi, and Erwin cram together in the back. 

"Eren, if you haven't noticed already, I'm documenting the entire day with you. I hope you don't mind," Erwin politely says. 

Eren waves it off. "That's fine. I don't really care," he says. 

Annie notices the different personality he takes on when he's with her friends. She's used to her friend acting differently around other people, but Eren's contrasting personalities goes to show how anxious he is. 

She leans into Eren's ears. 

"Hey, you shouldn't be so stressed about every little thing you're saying or doing, alright? Loosen up and relax yourself," she whispers. 

She leans back on her seat, one hand atop the gearshift and another on the wheel. 

Eren thinks about her advice. He was so focused on the youtubers and he was so conscious over their impression of him, he completely forgot about enjoying himself today. The realization blows his mind. 

He does as he's told, loosening himself up and relaxing. Eren turns the radio on just as they drive away. 

"I hope you guys don't mind pop. I can always change it to the radio that plays music from the 90's and 80's" he says. 

"Oh my god, no. We don't mind. Erwin and Levi actually like listening to pop hits," says Hanji.

"That is a lie," Levi claims. 

Heat rushes to Levi's cheeks and the redness to his skin is revealed. 

"Ok, even though I don't look like it, I actually enjoy listening to pop," Erwin shamelessly confesses.

Eren laughs at the two men's reaction. 

*

Hanji and Levi return to arguing before arriving at the mall. Annie's patience has ran out for the two, but her desire to rip their throats off is suppressed, creating a more deadly and explosive tempter for the future. 

She's the first to head out when she parks. 

"Guys, I'm just going to leave you here. I know that Erwin is going to film this entire thing, but I don't want to be a part of the video," she says. 

It's actually an excuse to break away from the group. Hanji is lost in her own little world, too excited to listen. 

"Alright. I'll blur your face when I edit this video," Erwin says. 

Annie turns to her friend. 

"Hey, I'm going to leave you on your own. I mean, I love you and I want to stand by you, but I think I'm going to end up killing somebody if they continue arguing like that," she whispers, making sure that the others don't hear. 

Even if they did, she wouldn't care. 

Eren nods understandably.

"Alright. You're perfectly fine. I mean, if your only purpose in the plan was to drive us around, then you've done your job," he says. 

"Thanks. I'm going to get back to you when the movies are over. While you guys watch your movies, I'll find a place for the four of you to eat. Please enjoy yourself," she whispers before leaning away. 

The group finally walks inside the mall, where the floors are shiny and cleaned. Levi is satisfied that he can even see his reflection on the floor. While Erwin casually films the event, Hanji jumps around, hyper and without a care in the world. Annie bids her farewells and breaks away. 

"Wait, where is she going?" Asks Hanji, pausing from her fun. 

"She doesn't want to watch the movies," Eren answers. 

Hanji looks as if she's about to question why, but she chooses to drop the subject. She most-likely has a good idea of what it's about. 

The three head to the movie line, which is conveniently absent of many people and they immediately get to the front. 

"Scary movie, right?" Hanji asks. 

"It doesn't have to be a scary movie. I mean, it can be anything else if there's no scary movie," Eren hesitantly says. 

"No, I saw the video too and I'm sure that he said he wanted to watch a scary movie with him " Erwin adds, clarifying the confusion. 

Hanji nods and gives Erwin a thumbs up. 

Hanji talks to the person on the counter, ordering tickets for two on a horror movie that's been clearly raved by the critics - as described in the movie posters, but most likely has an overused plot. Eren isn't looking forward to watching a horror movie. In fact, he dreads the experience. He doesn't speak against it, however, since he doesn't want to cause anymore complications in the decision making. 

"Are you alright?" Erwin asks, craning his head down to look at Eren. 

"Oh, I'm just spacing out," Eren responds. 

Levi stands behind us with a sulk on his face and his arms crossed in front of him. He isn't enjoying the experience one bit and Eren is quite disappointed that this is Levi's attitude towards the event. It's more like an act of immaturity. Eren turns around to face him.

"Are you ok, Levi?" Eren asks. 

Levi sighs. 

"I'm fine. Have you even noticed that Hanji only ordered two tickets?" 

"I couldn't tell," Eren responds, looking back to Hanji. 

She holds tickets in her hands, but the brunette can't tell the amount of tickets she's holding. 

"Well, she ordered only two tickets and you know what that means?" He asks. 

The situation isn't as dire as Levi is making it out to be. While Levi dreads the movie date, Eren doesn't. 

"I mean, I don't mind Erwin coming with me if you really don't want to go on a movie date with me. We're not gonna be doing anything. We're just watching a movie together. It can't be that bad," says Eren. 

The group of four walks away from the line, with Hanji narrating the entire occasion to Erwin's camera. She flashes the tickets in her hands. Levi was about to utter his response, but for some odd reason, Hanji points towards the duo, with Erwin to film them as well. They ignore what just happened, continuing on with their conversation. 

"Four-eyes here, and I mean Hanji, keeps doing things against my wishes. And it irritates me, a lot," he says. 

To sympathize with the man, Eren nods. Hanji is already in the refreshment concession, buying the two some popcorn. She's jumpy and hyper and unstoppable. Not only does Erwin struggle to keep up, but so does the theater employees. 

The area is slightly colder than the rest of the mall and the lighting is different to match the late-night atmosphere. 

"It would be nice if the woman could learn to respect my opinion," Levi complains. 

Eren shrugs. He doesn't know how to properly respond to his ranting, but he wants to show the grumpy man that he's there to listen. 

Hanji beckons the two to hurry up. With one arm occupied by a popcorn bag, her other arm urgently motioning towards herself, almost as if she's flapping her wings to fly. Eren and Levi walk a little faster, but not as quickly as Hanji would've wanted them to. Her expression deadens and she stops waving to wordlessly say in immense frustration, 'guys, are you kidding me?' 

They eventually make it to Hanji's side, Erwin still filming them. 

"You guys are like turtles," she comments, handing Eren the popcorn bag and Levi the tickets. 

"Ok, so you approach that man over there, you hand him the tickets and you go to room sixty-nine. Then, you can watch your movie. We're really early, but as you wait, you two can strike a conversation or something. Erwin and I are going to wait until the movie is over, so yeah. I hope you have fun!" 

Her excitement would have been contagious and Eren would have smiled with her, but he didn't. He pitied Levi for putting him through something he was clearly againsts. She's more like a freak of nature and the two are completely powerless. The woman walks behind Levi, pushing him forwards. 

"Alright. You two are gonna be Gouda, like cheese, aight? Don't worry. You're gonna enjoy this and we're going to tour the mall for the rest of the day, so this'll be a blast," Hanji assures. 

Levi was already walking towards the man, ignoring the rest of Hanji's encouragement. Eren follows. He stands behind a tiny post, with a box of 3d glasses and a wide, customer-friendly smile. Before the man could say hello, Levi hands him the tickets. The man quickly rips it in half, giving the tickets along with two 3d glasses. 

"Wait, the movie's in 3d?" Eren asks, anxiety boiling up in his stomach.

"Yeah. It's going to be a lot of fun," Levi nonchalantly says. 

The two find themselves in a dark hallway, with loud booming noises from other rooms and bright lights only illuminating the movie epic movie posters. Levi leads Eren to room sixty-nine, a place that's darker than the hallway they just came from. It's noiseless, as if a vacuum is there to suck all of the noise away. Strangely enough, the haunting air is somewhat comforting to him. 

"Are you alright?" Levi inquires, turning around to meet Eren in the eye. 

Eren snaps out of his haze. 

"Yeah. I'm perfectly fine. This is exciting," he responds.

Red, folded chairs line the room from left to right, level after level. It's only the two of them, so far. Nobody else has arrived. 

With the minimal lighting, there's hardly any visibility in the room, making it more difficult to climb the stairs - which are located on both sides of the chairs. The large and imposing screen is a dull gray and the only brightness Eren's eyes can hold onto are the two bright exit signs in the room. Levi's figure becomes more difficult to follow. 

"Hey, do you want to sit in the front, middle, or the back?" Levi asks. 

"Middle, I guess," is Eren's unsure answer, but his focus is mainly trained on his anxiety and the darkness of the room. 

Even with the comforting silence, he's petrified with having to watch a horror movie. He knows that there will be many jumpscares ahead of him and what follows that knowledge is doom. 

Why didn't I requested to watch a different movie earlier? Why did I have to be such a doormat? 

"Eren, I was serious when I asked you if you were ok. Let me ask you again, are you ok?" 

Levi is already on the stairs, but Eren is still on the bottom level of the room, motionless and drowning in the suffocating fear of having to watch a scary movie. The man's voice snaps Eren out of his petrified state and Eren quickly scales the steps to Levi's side. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm alright. There's nothing wrong. I'm Gouda, like cheese," Eren hesitantly responds. 

Levi stares at him a while longer, his suspicion growing by the second. Eren holds his breath the entire time. Perhaps his breath will reveal his actual feelings towards the movie. Now, it's truly silent, and the air between them holds too much weight for any of them to label as awkward. 

"Did Hanji say that to you?" He finally asks. 

Eren swears that Levi had more to say, a better question in mind. He thinks about the question more than he should and he molds a more complicated meaning behind it. 

"Yes, before we went inside the movie, but you already walked away from her," Eren explains. 

"Alright." 

The shorter man walks inside the row of chair, settling in an area that's absolutely in the middle. He pushes down his chair and sits on it, holding down a chair for Eren as well. Eren smiles. 

"Thank you." 

"No problem," says Levi.

So the two sit in silence. Eren is a nervous wreck. Since he was always cooped up in his room, typing away at his fanfics, and avoiding any form of social interaction, he doesn't have the slightest clue on how to start a decent conversation with someone. Levi isn't awkward about it, since he's more mature, but Eren is doing all he can to think about something to say. 

"So..."Eren begins, catching the attention of the man beside him. "Do you enjoy making YouTube videos?" 

Levi turns to face Eren. 

"Sometimes. It's a pain, actually, but the money is enough to help me sustain myself," he easily answers. 

Eren doesn't know how to follow through. He didn't think he would come so far, so he doesn't have anything more to say. The two slowly sink back to an awkward silence. 

"Have you read any of my fanfics?" Eren asks, desperate for a conversation. 

The awkwardness is similar to an itch, only more irritating. He has to talk and he has to fill in the silence. On the bright side, another couple walks inside the room and settles on the front side and Eren doesn't feel as lonely anymore. 

"No offense, but I would never read something like that - a romance story between me and a person that I'm close to. No thank you. I only read them when it's for a video," he says, waving his hand dismissively. 

Eren doesn't take offense, but it hurts to hear such a response from an individual like Levi. 

"Now it's my turn to ask you a question...." 

Eren nods, "alright."

"What's your favorite color?" He asks. 

Eren smiles at the silly question, relieving some stress. Before he could answer, the smile bubbles into an adorable giggle. Levi remains stoic, his mouth a straight line.

"I thought that you were going to ask me something more...serious? Original? I wasn't expecting that. Anyway, I really like navy blue. It calms me down," he says, a giggle between each syllable. 

"Mine is whatever color your eyes are." 

At first, Eren doesn't realize what the older man said, but once the charming words fully process in his mind, his giggling ceases as heat rises to his cheeks. It forms a charming blush on his face, bright enough for Levi do see.

"Wow, so it seems that I flatter you." Levi retorts. 

The blush reddens and the heat increases to the point that Eren can no longer remain silent about it. 

"Well...I was...I didn't expect...you...to say that either...I'm just surprised," Eren stammers, struggling to form coherent sentences in his mind. 

More people mile inside the room. Some are already wearing their 3d glasses and some have began snacking upon their popcorn. 

"Alright. But the color of your eyes are...not bad. I'm pretty sure I haven't seen a color like that before," he continues. 

Levi reaches into the popcorn bag and takes a handful of popcorn. The man places a buttery piece in his mouth, and Eren pays extra attention to the way he holds it with only his thumb and his index finger. It's peculiar. 

Eren doesn't know how to respond. The only reasonable thing to do is to move on to another topic, hoping that the man will go along with it. 

"Do you have a pet?" Eren asks. 

"No, fucking no. Why would I have a pet? Oh my god. No," Levi hastens to answer. 

"What's wrong with them? Why would you react so strongly against having them?" 

"No, Eren. Fucking no. Fishes are fine, they're cool. The furry ones are the problem. They're just...I don't enjoy them. They make too much noise, demand too much attention, and shed too much fur. Nope. Animals are not my forte," he answers with an explosion of vexation. 

Eren is appalled by the man's response. Not once had he encountered an individual with such a strong opinion about household pets, especially about the furry ones. 

"Why? Why the furry ones? So you dislike dogs? Puppies? Little kittens? Cats? What in the world possessed you to say something as awful as that?" Eren questions. 

Levi shakes his head. 

"There's this thing. It's called valuing someone's opinion. Even in a subject you don't agree with, you should still learn how to respect my stance towards it. You see, I've had about enough of that shit," he says and Eren can immediately tell that he's referring to his friend, Hanji. 

Eren's mouth forms an 'o' as he nods in his realization. 

"I got you. It's just...really uncommon for me. I haven't met someone who hated pets so much, but that's probably because I don't do enough socializing."

"It's not that big of a deal. I mean, it's just household-"

The screen begins playing movie trailers and the lighting becomes darker than before, interrupting Levi. Eren is shocked by the amount of people that have occupied the seats and how quickly they had done so. The light bulbs are still luminescent, only that they illuminate the pathways to the theater and the exit signs. The two don their 3d glasses. 

"That kinda scared me," says Levi, placing a hand to his rapidly beating heart. 

When the screen came on and voices started to play, Levi slightly jumped in his seat, but Eren hadn't noticed. 

Eren smiles. 

"Then you're not going to last long in this movie," he slyly mutters, quietly laughing to himself. 

"I heard that," Levi says, and his irritation spikes after hearing the comment. 

Eren shrugs. 

"I'm just saying." 

Levi rolls his eyes as he sighs, and leaves the conversation as it is. He doesn't want to insinuate an argument, and if an argument were to break out, Levi's uncontrollable temper would be due to his pent up aggression towards Hanji. 

As for Eren, he's thankful that the conversation can end without the awkward note. The sounds from the trailers are filling in the silence between them. Also, they're not supposed to be causing a commotion in the first place. 

For the entire time, he completely forgets to dread the horror movie that he's bound to watch. The trailers finish playing and the lights dim to the point of solid darkness. Only the bulbs on the pathways remain illuminated, already setting up a perfectly eerie aura. 

His shaky hand reaches into the popcorn bag for a piece and Levi leans into his ear. 

"The movie hasn't even started yet and you're already shaking? Are you that afraid?" He whispers. 

At first, Eren thought that the voice was from the movie and he freezes in fear - that is, until Levi taps his shoulder and he's somewhat back into reality. Eren turns to face the man. 

"I asked you a question," he says. 

Eren remains dazed, but he manages to recall what Levi said and verbalize a clear answer. 

"Yeah. I'm alright. I'm shaking because I'm cold, not because I'm scared or nervous at all." 

Levi doesn't appear to be convinced. His facial expression remains neutral, as it's always been, but there had been some sort of emotion in his eyes before. Now, they're as frigid as it's color - grey. It's as if he's poring holes into Eren's soul, meaning that Levi pinpointed the lie. If Eren's response was truthful, then it should have been reversed. 

And the fact that Eren attempted to deceive Levi lingers in the air between them. 

The older man waits for moments more before he can relax back into his seat. 

"Alright. It's just that you've become more nervous when you entered the movie theater. So it's either you're really nervous around me, or your fucking scared of watching the movie," he whispers. 

Eren's responses has led Levi to believe that the younger man is extremely anxious to be in his company. It gives Levi a good idea of Eren's current feelings towards him. 

Eren tightly presses his lips together in deep regret. His eyes are round and his entire posture is stiff from awkwardness. He can't bring himself to say anything and he isn't so sure as to how he could touch upon the topic without encountering a second wave of cringe-worthy moments. 

All he can do is sit back and watch the movie, which starts out with a family moving into a new home - surprisingly isolated and close to the woods. 

So far, nothing is happening. The teenage daughter is drowning in hormones and the younger son is playing with his toy boat at the top of the stairs. 

Angry teenage daughter slams the door to her father's face because she has to leave her old school to start a new life. His wife places her hand on his shoulder and tells him that the daughter will be over it soon. 

Perhaps this isn't as scary as Eren initially thought. 

Boy, he was wrong. 

Twenty three minutes into the movie and two jump scares later, he's quivering in his seat and on the verge of bursting into tears. His limbs ache and he often placed his hand overtop his mouth to prevent the guttural scream. And yes, his current state will get worse if he continues to watch, and Eren is well aware of that fact. 

Suddenly, a cold hand grabs him by the arm and pulls him upwards. Eren was about to scream, but he immediately meets Levi's eyes and realizes that it's not the creepy doll that's haunting the family. Levi rapidly motions Eren to stand. He does as he's told before he mouths out the question, 'why?' 

Levi doesn't respond. His grip slides down Eren's arm to firmly hold him in his hand and he leads the bewildered young man through the rows of people. Eren's heart is still racing from the suspenseful scenes in the movie and tears are still threatening to waterfall down his cheeks. But Levi's grip and the reassuring eye contact they shared earlier helps him cope with the trepidation. At least he doesn't have to watch the movie any longer. 

The two leave the room with Levi dragging Eren out to the theater hallway. Eren's rigid path to stability is more difficult to conquer than he thought. In fact, it only gets worse. Eren begins to cry, collapsing onto the metal bench with his hands covering his entire face. Levi let's go and sits beside the troubled man. He places a hand on top of his trembling shoulder, unable to think up of other methods of comfort. 

"Hey, brat," he says gently, rubbing his hand on the shoulder. "You'll be ok. There aren't any scary dolls here to haunt you anymore, alright? You're going to be perfectly fine." 

Eren shakes his head and he continues crying. 

"Shhhh. You're gonna make it. You're not gonna die," Levi assures. 

The older man doesn't have the slightest clue as to how to deal with a crying individual. Normally, he would walk away since he's the person to cause the stir. Now that he's stuck with Eren, however, can't rely on anybody else to help him. Levi tries to maintain his composure and keep a straight face, but beneath the exterior is merely a befuddled man who's trying his best.

After Levi is reminded that it's also Eren's birthday, and Eren is sobbing in his fucking birthday, it makes the situation appear 100x worse.

"Let's go. We'll just leave," he says. 

Eren shakes his head once again. This time, he removes his hands from his face, revealing watery green eyes, a red nose, red cheeks, and a prominent pout. Levi hates to admit it, but the kid looks adorable like that. 

"I don't want to leave because Hanji and Erwin could tell that I chickened out in the middle of the movie," Eren explains. 

Levi stares at him with incredulity, but he promptly wipes the look off his face, as he should be attempting to sympathize with the boy rather than patronizing him, which is his natural reaction to these sort of circumstances. 

"Then what are we going to do?" Levi asks. 

The two simply can't walk back into the theater. It would also be a huge trouble trying to return to their seats, navigating through the audience, quietly saying apologies, and almost tripping on someone's foot seventeen times - Levi can't go through an experience like that once again. 

Eren doesn't answer. He stares at the floor with wet hands in dead air for several seconds. The young man no longer cares for the silent moments. Then, he stands up and walks to the bathroom, which is not so far from the metal bench. Levi also stands to follow the peculiar kid. When the older man arrives at the bathroom, he spots Eren washing his hands in the sink. 

"So, what are we going to do, Eren?" He patiently reiterates.

"Can we just stay here until the movie ends?" Eren asks. 

The young man's gorgeous eyes are darkly shaded storm clouds, stranded in some sort of lala-land and unable to escape. He's emotionless and dazed, emptily staring at a reflection of himself in the mirror. Levi knows that Eren will snap out of it soon, but he can't stand waiting for an hour and forty minutes. 

"No, if you don't want to watch the movie anymore, we'll just sneak out and come back when Erwin and Hanji expect us to be out. They wouldn't actually wait outside of the theater until the movie is done. They're going to walk around and explore the mall," says Levi. 

The deceleration is brought to Eren's attention and he faces Levi with confusion. Levi spots the hints of trauma in the young man's quivering lips and the watery, devastatingly vulnerable eyes. He hates to oppose a face like that and regrets speaking against Eren's wishes. 

Levi sighs, "Never-"

"Well, where are we going to go?" Eren asks, slightly furrowing his eyebrows. 

Eren turns to the sink once again, washing his face as well. Nobody else is present in the bathroom, and Eren takes advantage of the open opportunity. 

"We can go to some kind of bookstore, clothing shop, or the food court. Just point something out and I can buy something for you," the older man says as Eren wipes his face with the brown paper towels. 

While Eren stares at his reflection in the mirror, he responds, "Ok. Sure, that'll be alright. I'm perfectly fine with the plan. You sound really rich when you talk like that."

Eren is a little more alert than before, Levi notices and is slightly encouraged by that fact.

"I kinda am. It's a little complicated, so I'm not explaining it for you. But if you play the game right, you're popular, and you're making money by uploading YouTube videos," he says. 

The young man inspects his face one last time. Perhaps his nose is still a little too red, or his cheeks a little too puffy, and his eyes a little too large to be unnoticed by the general public. Levi catches on to Eren's worrying as he watches the young man fix strands of hair and clear the wrinkles from his shirt. 

"Eren, nobody can tell that you were just sobbing. And if they do, they'll probably just assume that you watched a really sad movie here or something," Levi assures, hoping that it's enough to convince the young man. 

"I'm not so sure. I don't know about you, but I'm extremely self-conscious about this. Yeah, I don't really care for how I dress, but if I come off as a crybaby to people, then I'm going to care. A lot," Eren says, proceeding to stare at himself. 

The older man sighs and rolls his eyes. 

"Let's go. I saw a books-a-million here. Let's try to find it," says Levi. 

Eren finally agrees to the plan and heads out of the bathroom with Levi. Then, the two stroll out of the theater and into the mall. 

"Hey, are you familiar with this mall?" Levi asks. 

The young man shrugs. 

"I've been here a few times, but I don't know anything about this place," Eren answers. 

"Well, we can't just walk around if you don't want to encounter Erwin or Hanji."

"I know. Let's just go to books-a-million, wherever that is," Eren says. 

*

"You're planning something Hanji and I have a feeling that it's not something good."

The woman pauses from her merry skipping and turns around to face the blonde man. He has been following her around the mall, his long legs allowing him to keep up with her hyper speed. 

Hanji is behaved quite erratically today and it makes the two an oddball of a pairing. As they cruise through the mall, passerby's can't help but stare - not that Erwin ever minded or the staring was ever uncommon. But Erwin can tell - he can clearly tell that there's something buzzing in her mind, something that's heightening her emotions to extremes. The man has a good idea of what might have caused it. 

She smiles mischievously, indicating that she is indeed devilishly scheming in that mind of hers. 

"I'm not planning anything. What are you talking about?" 

Hanji plays innocent, but Erwin is miles away from buying it. 

"First of all, we could have watched the movie with them, but you didn't. And I was confused because you should have. It's his birthday. Then, you made them watch a scary movie, and an awful one at that. You've watched it before and you've complained to me that it was really bad," he explains. 

Hanji's smile grows wider and a laugh bubbles out of her mouth. 

"So, want are you trying to say?" She playfully asks. 

"Are you trying to set them up?" Erwin questions. 

Hanji bursts into a fit of more laughter. It's loud enough to catch the attention of the entire vicinity and people turn their heads to get a look at the crazy woman. 

"Yes. Well, we both know that Levi will never buy it and it's impossible to actually set the two up if they're going to live several states away. So we're just having fun with him before we actually leave,"she says. 

Her laugh dies down into a sinister giggle and she rubs her hands together as if she has germex between her fingers.

"I don't really get your logic, but whatever. Yeah, set up Levi. He's totally not gonna be angry with you when he finds out about it," Erwin sarcastically replies. 

"They have great compatibility, though. We didn't even try isolating the two back then, they just happened to drift together. Not only that, but Levi has a nicer attitude around him," says Hanji as she pensively rubs her chin. 

"He could be acting nicer because it's Eren's birthday," the blonde points out. 

Hanji nods in agreement, but she's still thinking deeply about it.

The two settle on a wooden bench before they continue their conversation. They had been standing in the middle of the mall and they were irritating other mall-goers. 

"That's true," Hanji says. 

She stops running her chin and begins to relax, the hard look on her eyes vanishing.

"See, you're over thinking it. Maybe you actually want it to be a thing and you're leading yourself to believe that Eren and Levi would make a good couple," says Erwin. 

Hanji still isn't so sure. This doesn't mean that she's stopped thinking about it forever. The idea is stored in the back of her mind and it'll linger in her head to haunt her. 

"I guess," she answers faintly. 

*

"Aren't you going to buy a book that you're actually going to read?" Levi asks. 

For the past hour, Eren has been stuck in the journal section, looking over the journals available, taking it in his hands, and running through the pages. The young man marvels over each beautiful design, delving into the story behind every one. 

"But why purchase a book that you can read and be finished with, if you can buy a book and write on it?" Eren asks. 

"Nope, you're not gonna make this all poetic and shit. But if you really want, I can buy all of them for you."

Eren turns around to stare at the man with an eyebrow raised. The young man has never acquainted himself with people who are as rich as Levi, so he doesn't know if Levi is completely serious.

"Like I said, I'm a very wealthy person. Since it's your birthday, I wouldn't have a problem buying you some shit," the older man says. 

"But can't you use the money to sustain yourself, pay your electric bills, and stuff like that?" Eren asks. 

"Of course I figured that out too. I'm not that stupid, Eren. But if you really don't want me to buy you a journal, you should've just said so," he says, holding up his watch. 

"No, I want to buy a fucking journal. I just want to make sure that the journal is perfect for me. I don't know. It's weird, but I have this process for buying journals. If it's not good for me, then I won't be able to complete it," Eren answers, staring at a black moleskin journal, simple and sweet. 

The young man likes the sleek look of it, the perfect way it fits in his hand, and the inspiring atmosphere he can draw from it. 

"Then what makes a journal matter? Are you going to pick out a journal that's the most pleasing in your eyes? What qualifies a good journal?" Levi inquires sarcastically, slightly frustrated that he's had to wait for such a long time. 

Levi simply doesn't understand because he isn't a writer, Eren thinks. The older man's logical mind doesn't function the way Eren does, which runs from complete irrationality and gut feelings - and Eren understands. He figures that Annie is the same. 

"You just get a feeling from it, like a person that you can have a good conversation with. Maybe I'm just saying this because I don't have enough friends to talk with and I'm bad at having a conversation with someone," the young man says, stopping before he continues rambling on. 

"Well, that doesn't make sense," Levi petulantly answers. 

"It does to me... At first, I'm always drawn to the pretty journals, the ones with the shiny covers like those over there, but I would figure that none of them would suit me, so I end up drifting to the plainer ones. I really like these, though," Eren says, sliding his palm through the front cover. 

It's slightly smaller than the average black and white composition books, small enough for him to comfortably carry around. The older man is shocked to see such a gentle and fond expression on Eren's face, especially with his soft eyes and glowing smile. It's a wider smile than when Levi was with Eren in the movies. 

"Simplicity is the key, I guess " says Levi. 

"Maybe so, but I do have some extremely extravagant journals in my room. Like, I had one with a girl sitting on the moon as my covers. The lining was silver and the edges were silver as well. It's amazing and I enjoyed writing in that one... I don't even know why the cover of notebooks matter so much," Eren rambles, loosing volume at the end of his statement. 

Then, the brunette shakes his head and the gorgeous smile on his face is not as wide and compassionate. Levi stares at him for several seconds as Eren carries heavy silence in the air between them. 

"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly so...silent?" Levi asks. 

The young man casually shrugs. 

"It's just that...whenever I talk about journals and notebooks and writing, they dismiss the topic for something else because they think it's boring. You, on the other hand, haven't stopped me once. It's very...new to me," Eren says. 

Levi holds back his laugh. The young man is shyly avoiding his gaze and Levi finds it awfully cute. 

"Are you asking me if I'm bored with you? I'm not, and I'm not saying that just because it's your birthday, you insecure little brat," Levi responds, pausing to think before he continues. "And I can understand. Writing is your passion. Anyone who ignores that is a fucking idiot," he says. 

Eren lowers his head as he thinks about Annie. He was referring to her when he spoke, but the young man knows that his friend is not an idiot. She was simply bored with him, and Levi will soon be bored with him too. 

"I guess so..." Eren mutters as he holds the moleskin journal to his chest. 

"Are you going to buy that one?" Levi asks. 

"Yes."

"Do you want to get another one? It's fine by me," the older man offers. 

Eren shakes his head. 

The older man is about to ask another question, but he keeps his mouth shut and agrees to buy the one notebook Eren chose. The young boy is smiling widely once again, a beautiful sight to Levi's eyes. It allows the older man to stride more confidently to the counter and face the pimpled cashier, blossoming at the ripe age of adolescence. 

They politely exchange hellos with the cashier asking about his day. Levi answers with an ok and proceeds to hand the cashier the notebook. Eren turns away to look at the other interesting merchandise available in the store. A little while later, Levi taps Eren's shoulders.

"I got the notebook for you. Also, I bought you some pens," he says, handing Eren the bag. 

The brunette looks into the plastic. In there lies the black moleskin journal he picked out and a pack of designed pens. Eren loves pens and exclusively uses them to write in his journals. It's a different brand than he usually buys, but telling from the packaging and the amount of pens included (which is less), Eren can tell it's the more expensive kind. 

"Also, they're the ones that last seven years," Levi adds. 

Eren's eyes widen and he rips his eyes away from the bag to look at him. 

"The ones that last seven years? I know books-a-million gets really cool stuff, but I never knew that they had pens that last seven years. That's fucking crazy. How much did they even cost?" He inquires. 

Levi shrugs. "Twenty-five dollars because each one costs about eight and then there's tax and yeah. I have one of these, but it's pretty rare to spot these in packs of three," he says. 

"Wait, I have a panda, breakfast, and then a bicycle design. Which one do you have?" Eren asks. 

"I have the Little Dipper one. I've had it for a year now, but it's not with me right now - of course," he says. 

Eren smiles wider than ever, looking back and forth between the bag and Levi. Words have left his mouth and his voice has forsaken his throat - Eren is mindblown and one of its side effects is his speechlessness. 

"I love this," he finally says, more obvious than ever. 

"Happy birthday, kid," Levi says a second time. 

Eren shakes his head. 

"I'm not fucking kidding. I love this," he says. 

It's a simple gift and he's gotten more simpler gifts throughout his day, but it's enough to stuff Eren's heart with golden joy. His day has just been filled with amazing surprises. With meeting the Survey Corps, hanging out with Levi, getting the Journey album from Annie, and having the Seven Years pen as a present, he can die and he would be happy. 

Levi is a little surprised by Eren's strong reaction, but deep down inside, he cares and he's relieved that Eren loves his present. The older man picked it out on a whim and hadn't actually thought much about it, so he was afraid that the young man wouldn't accept it.

"You're welcome," Levi responds. 

Now he's the speechless one.

"Thank you. I love these. So these pens altogether are a going to last me...twenty-one years. Wow. This is amazing," Eren says. 

The two begin walking out of books-a-million, but a question surfaces between the two, 'where are we going to go next?' 

Levi looks at his wrist watch. The more important question at hand is, 'Are we going to have enough time?' 

It turns out that Eren had taken up all the remaining time when he was searching for the perfect journal.

"We need to go back to the theater," Levi says, gazing at his watch. 

Eren agrees as he stares at Levi's watch as well. It's Roman numerals, but the young man gets the gist of what it's saying. 

"Hey, brat. You should give me your number so that we could text later or something," Levi suggest, bewildering Eren. 

He pulls away and steps back with the largest set of eyes Levi has ever seen. Eren's mouth is ajar and his hand is covering an area in his chest. 

"Are you serious?" Eren asks. 

The young man hardly texts anybody, but if it were to be Levi, then he'll gladly take the time to sit down and tap away at his phone. Levi is pretty embarrassed that he proposed the idea. He doesn't know why he said what he said and he isn't sure what part of himself wanted to text the young boy. Levi doesn't even text anybody. 

"I mean, if you don't want me to text you then that's perfectly fine as well. It's your decision," the older man says. 

"No, I....want to text you. I don't really know...what we're going to be texting...about, but yeah," Eren sputters, struggling to find the words to say.

Eren gets out his phone as the two stop beside a bench. Levi gets out his phone as well, reaching into his back pocket. The two quickly exchange numbers, adding each other in their contact lists. 

"Ok, Eren Jaeger?" 

The older man attempts to say Eren's last name, but his mouth weirdly twists and turns and the attempt ends in failure, making Eren smile. 

"It's like you're saying yay and then grrr. So you're happy in the first syllable and then you're aggravated in the next one." 

"Eren YayGrr. Ok. I got it. That's a unique way of putting it," Levi says. 

"I'm more like a grr, though. But I guess so." 

"Levi Riv- Did I say that part right?" Eren asks. 

"Yeah keep going."

"So do I say the last part...ale? Like ginger ale? Rivaille?" The young man struggles to say, trying to correct his pronunciation. 

Levi has only revealed his first name to YouTube, never his last name. 

The older man nods as he leads Eren back to the movie theater. He's memorized where it is, and there's not much distance between the theater and the bookstore. 

The two head back before the movie finishes, just in time. Erwin and Hanji has yet to arrive. 

"Are we going to keep this part a secret?" Eren asks, looking to Levi. 

"Do you need me to?" Levi asks, raising his eyebrow. 

Eren doesn't even hesitate to answer. 

"Yeah. I really don't want them to know that I couldn't watch the movie because I was too afraid." Eren bravely musters a weak laugh to hide the disappointment in himself. 

"Even if those idiots know, they're not going to judge you. They're not that bad," Levi assures. 

Eren nods, but Levi's attempt does nothing to make him feel any better. 

"Do you take every opportunity to insult them?" Eren asks, cringing at the stupid question. Of course Eren would know. He's watched nearly all of Levi's videos. 

"Yeah. Look at it as a term of endearment. It's kinda like the way Hanji doesn't listen to anything I say. She knows that it gets under my skin, but she gets a kick out of teasing the hell out of me," he answers. 

Eren understands. The same goes for him and Annie. 

"What about Erwin? I'm pretty sure Erwin does something behind the camera to piss you off," Eren asks. 

"Why do you care? Just kidding. Yeah. The things that he does aren't even off camera. He just sides with Hanji in everything she does. Really, he can't think of anything more devilish to do, so he isn't as bad," he says. 

"Do you ever smile?" Eren asks, not allowing the silence to form between the two. 

"Why the hell are you interviewing me?" Levi asks. 

There's no actual frustration inflicted in his voice. It's just a little silly that Eren is using his brain cells to have a conversation with him rather than relaxing. After hanging out with him for a while, Levi has figured out the reason behind Eren's need to have a conversation, and it's a little cute. 

Eren blushes and looks away. He opens his mouth several times, but an answer never comes. 

"I just...I want to make the most of this before you go," Eren finally says. 

"Kid, I'm not even going anywhere yet. The day is not over. Erwin, Hanji, and I are not dumb. We all know that this is not enough to make your birthday. Hanji, especially, likes to go over the top with everything," Levi assures. 

Eren appears to be a little more calm after the assurance. 

In all honesty, the older man thinks that Eren's lacking self-confidence is pathetic, but he can sense Eren's efforts at improving himself. It's evident through Eren's attempts at making a conversation, how he refuses to give it up to silence. Sure, it's a little annoying, but Levi can tell the difference between 'faking it' and 'faking it until you make it'. The kid is a work in progress and as long as he's making his way towards it, Levi is perfectly fine being in his company. 

The two continue their conversation with Eren forcing himself to talk. After some time, Levi and Eren find themselves in a groove where they can talk to each other without thinking about it. It makes the silence less painful to bear. Eventually, they reunite with the four-eyed woman and the blonde man with a camera at hand. The group of four wait a little longer until Annie finally arrives at their side.

**Author's Note:**

> Hah, see what I did there? Sorry not sorry.


End file.
